Pep Guardiola coy on Haaland and O’Reilly fitness ahead of Nottingham Forest clash

Manchester City will look to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal when they host Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Cityzens trail the Gunners by five points, although they have one game in hand.

Manager Pep Guardiola has given a fitness update on the duo of Erling Haaland and Nico O’Reilly ahead of their clash with Forest.

He said via mancity.com: “Erling feels much better, but yesterday we didn’t train, and now we have training and will decide today. It’s the same with Nico. We will decide after training.”

Haaland did not feature in City’s 1-0 win at Leeds United, but O’Reilly did. The City academy graduate came off injured in the 70th minute and was replaced by Tijjani Reijnders.

Meanwhile, Josko Gvardiol and long-term absentee Mateo Kovacic remain sidelined through injury.

Guardiola unlikely to risk Haaland and O’Reilly against Forest

Guardiola’s comments suggest Haaland and O’Reilly could be available for Forest’s visit. However, the Spaniard is unlikely to give them a start, given City’s hectic schedule.

Antoine Semenyo, who scored the decisive goal against Leeds, and Omar Marmoush are likely to lead the attack again.

Reijnders could replace O’Reilly in midfield, having done the same at Elland Road. Phil Foden is another option to replace the English youngster.

With their contributions this season, Haaland and O’Reilly could prove decisive in the run-in, underlining the importance of managing their fitness.

Haaland is City ‘s top scorer with 29 goals across all competitions. O’Reilly has impressed at left-back and most recently in midfield, scoring three goals in the last two league games.

Stats from transfermarkt.com