Man City still sweating on Erling Haaland’s fitness ahead of Bournemouth clash

The champions secured a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Swansea City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, overturning an early deficit with goals from Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, and Rayan Cherki.

The result offered crucial game time to several squad members building match sharpness, though it also highlighted persistent fitness issues ahead of a pivotal league test.

Bournemouth head into the Etihad sitting second in the table, two points ahead of City following an impressive opening to the campaign. Guardiola's team, meanwhile, are eager to respond to last weekend's narrow 1-0 loss at Aston Villa, where Matty Cash's first-half strike ended their unbeaten run.

All eyes remain on Erling Haaland, who suffered a painful shin knock after clattering into the post during the Villa defeat. The Norwegian forward saw out the full 90 minutes but sat out the Swansea tie as a precaution.

Guardiola has expressed optimism about his availability, stating he is "hopeful" the prolific striker can feature on Sunday, which would provide a significant lift to City's blunt attack.

Adding to the midfield woes, Mateo Kovacic remains a doubt after missing the Swansea outing. The Croatian, who has yet to start a match this season following Achilles surgery over the summer, is still working back to full fitness and was deemed not quite ready for the cup tie.

He could be in contention for a bench role on Sunday, pending final assessment.

Midfielder Rodri is also closing in on a return from the hamstring strain he picked up just 22 minutes into City's win over Brentford earlier this month. The Ballon d'Or winner has resumed light training sessions but is unlikely to be risked this weekend, with Guardiola prioritizing a careful reintegration.

A comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League next week appears more realistic.

Post-match, Guardiola described the injury landscape as "challenging" but lauded his depleted squad's resilience. "Swansea started fantastic and they scored the goal, but after that we started to be more composed, and the second half was brilliant," he said.

"We didn't lack aggression or composure. Attacking against 10 players so narrow and deep is not easy, but everyone was in position with movements and in the end we found the goals. There's no frustration, they played good."

City will aim to close the gap on the summit when they host a buoyant Bournemouth side, with a win potentially sparking a renewed push for title contention.

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