According to a report by BBC Sport on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, after seeing action in the Champions League match against AEK Athens, Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has announced that striker Erling Haaland will be fit to play in Saturday's Premier League encounter against Aston Villa.

On Tuesday, City defeated the Greek side 5-1 thanks to a brace from Phil Foden, and Haaland did not see any action as a substitute.

There are concerns about the Norwegian forward's fitness for their upcoming league match because he picked up a knock after scoring twice in City's 3-2 win over Ipswich Town last weekend.

Nevertheless, Maresca has downplayed concerns about a serious injury, saying that leaving Haaland out was partly to give him more rest.

Following Saturday's Champions League match, City manager Pep Guardiola stated, "He's okay to start."

Maresca elaborated by saying that the team benefited from sitting a number of bench players who were available to start the game.

At the same time that they rested, five or six of our players were prepared to come in, so that's a plus! Therefore, we are satisfied.

With Haaland back in the lineup, City will have a better chance of defeating Aston Villa, as the striker is vital to their offensive strategies.

The City manager also shared some news regarding Josko Gvardiol, who was replaced in the 72nd minute of the match against AEK Athens due to a minor back problem that he had during warmups.

Maresca assured the team that their player would be fine, mentioning that he had a minor issue with his back during warm-ups but was still able to play.

But after Antoine Semenyo hurt his knee against Ipswich, City will be without the forward for a long time.

According to Maresca, earlier scans had shown more cause for concern, but later scans painted a more encouraging picture.

He claimed that Antoine would be the only one absent for at least eight weeks.

Initially, our fears were magnified because we anticipated a more serious injury. The results of yesterday's scan put our minds at ease; the size was smaller than anticipated.

While Semenyo's recovery is the manager's top priority, he is expected to return around December.