Erling Haaland set to make Man City debut against Bayern Munich

Haaland has been nursing some fitness concerns
Haaland has been nursing some fitness concerns / KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/GettyImages
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Pep Guardiola has revealed Erling Haaland is likely to make his Manchester City debut in the pre-season friendly with Bayern Munich on Saturday.

The £51m summer signing has been managing his fitness since leaving Borussia Dortmund and missed City's first friendly, a 2-1 victory over Club America.

With the Cityzens set to take on a foe Haaland knows well from his time in the Bundesliga, manager Guardiola confirmed his side's fans ought to get a glimpse of the big Norwegian over the weekend.

"If this afternoon [Friday] there is nothing wrong in the training session, or tonight he [doesn't] feel bad and falls out of bed and breaks his ankle, then he will play.

"One of the things I am trying to discover is if he is a nice guy. I don't like to work much with guys who are not nice.

"When you have a locker room and the chemistry is good, that is worth more than hours of tactics.

"This summer we have bought some exceptional people. And the rest we know each other.

"And we are sad because Raheem, Gabriel and Oleks were incredibly beloved. Since I arrived in Manchester, the chemistry has been incredible. It makes things good for me.

Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all left Manchester for London this summer, with Sterling joining Chelsea and the latter two reuniting with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Bayern Munich have been busy in the transfer market and Guardiola commented on their summer business so far.


Listen now to 90min's Talking Transfers podcast, with Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth. On the latest show they discuss Chelsea finally closing in on Jules Kounde, Man Utd's ongoing pursuit of Frenkie de Jong, West Ham's hunt for a new forward and left-back and more. Available on all audio platforms.

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"Bayern is always a strong team. Not just the titles, the quality of their play," he added. "They will find solutions. The heart of the team is still there – Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich. And Sadio Mane is an exceptional player in all senses.

"[Matthijs] De Ligt is a young player, but two really good signings. That’s normal. Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, when they call, the players go. Other clubs have to pay a bit more money. These teams have the charisma and players will go there."


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