Erling Haaland out of Man City squad to face Chelsea in FA Cup semi-final
- City head to Wembley without top scorer Haaland
- Pep Guardiola confirmed Norwegian striker had been battling fitness issue
- Julian Alvarez to lead the line in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea
By Tom Gott
Erling Haaland has been left out of the Manchester City squad to face Chelsea in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final.
The Norway international asked to come off in midweek during City's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid and manager Pep Guardiola confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Haaland was a doubt to face Chelsea.
Having now submitted his team, Guardiola has left Haaland out completely, with the 23-year-old clearly not ready to face Mauricio Pochettino's side.
In his place, City will rely on Argentina international Julian Alvarez for the goals. The 24-year-old is third on City's scoring charts this season with eight strikes to his name, behind only Phil Foden (14) and Haaland (20).
Alvarez does, however, lead City in assists this year after finding a new role as a midfielder behind Haaland.
Kevin De Bruyne and Manuel Akanji both joined Haaland in asking to be withdrawn against Madrid, but the pair remain in the starting lineup to face Chelsea.
Chelsea welcome Enzo Fernandez back from injury, with the Argentina international thrown straight back into the starting lineup, while Axel Disasi is also fit enough for a place on the bench.
Former City winger Raheem Sterling, who has been battling a sickness bug recently, also earns a spot among Chelsea's substitutes.
Confirmed starting XIs
Man City XI: Ortega; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Ake; Rodri; Foden, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish; Alvarez
Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Gusto, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Madueke; Jackson
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