MANCHESTER — Manchester City face being without Erling Haaland for Tuesday's Champions League clash with AEK Athens at Etihad Stadium after the striker suffered a blow to the foot in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town. The Norway international, 26, scored twice in that win to take his tally to eight Premier League goals this season, but is now a doubt as City look to respond to last week's 4-2 defeat by Paris St-Germain.
"To replace Erling is always difficult but we have some different options," said manager Enzo Maresca. "It also depends on the gameplan. At the moment it is Erling. Why do we need to think of a different nine if Erling is there? If something happened or we need a different nine plan, we'll see." Maresca added Haaland "can be available" against Athens and will be assessed after Monday's training session, but that he was "quite good" on Sunday.
Haaland has scored in six consecutive top-flight matches to help City to the top of the table with a flawless start from their opening seven fixtures. Against Ipswich he scored his 100th non-penalty goal in the Premier League, reaching the milestone in fewer appearances than any other player, and he once again leads the top-flight scoring charts.
Should Haaland not recover, Maresca must find an alternative with Antoine Semenyo ruled out for eight weeks with the left knee injury he picked up in the win over Ipswich, potentially missing up to 13 matches. Maresca has previously said Semenyo can be used "as a nine" but that plan is no longer available, and City are without a natural replacement after Divin Mubama was allowed to join Championship side Southampton on loan in the summer, a move that surprised many given how difficult players such as Julian Alvarez and Omar Marmoush have found it to feature as back-ups to Haaland. Among the options mooted are Phil Foden — who ended his barren run on Saturday with his first Premier League goal since December — with Maresca noting: "Phil can be one of the solutions. He played already in the past in that position so could play again, but at the moment the number nine is Erling." Summer signing Iliman Ndiaye, who scored 14 goals as a striker during Sheffield United's promotion-winning campaign in 2022-23, is another candidate, while last season Pep Guardiola said Rayan Cherki fits the false nine role "perfectly" after the Frenchman scored in a 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford in that position.
"To lose Antoine or any player is not good," Maresca said on Monday. "In the first moment we expected an even worse injury, so we were more worried, but after Sunday's scan we feel much better. It could be eight weeks. The most important thing for him is to recover and also when he is back, probably around December, we will have a new player in terms of energy. It is a collateral [knee injury], something like this. It is not a muscle problem." Semenyo, who appeared as a 77th-minute substitute on Saturday before hobbling straight down the tunnel at full-time, has made 10 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals and providing three assists. Jeremy Doku started on the left flank against Ipswich and should continue in that role in Semenyo's absence.