Erling Haaland is expected to return to Manchester City’s starting lineup as they visit Aston Villa this weekend.

There have been concerns surrounding the Norwegian striker’s fitness of late. He started last weekend’s nervous 3-2 defeat of Ipswich Town, scoring a brace, but hobbled off at full time having sustained an apparent knock to the foot.

That came after head coach Enzo Maresca had admitted he would soon be in for a rest, having made four appearances for Norway in the international break and played every City match since.

The Italian then named Haaland to the matchday squad for Wednesday night’s Champions League match against AEK Athens, but left him on the bench for the full duration.

There were other absentees on the night, too, with Nico O’Reilly, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes all missing out.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s trip to face Aston Villa, though, Maresca was quick to play down any concerns Haaland was among the injured.

Speaking on O’Reilly, Kovacic and Nunes, he said: They could all be available or not. There are still doubts.

“Erling is the only one who is 100 per cent available and for the other three we need to wait.”

Haaland’s availability is, of course, a major boost for City as they face a tough Aston Villa side.

The Norwegian has been in typically imperious form this campaign, with 12 goals in nine appearances across the Premier League and Champions League.

He is the runaway leader in the Golden Boot race, too, with his eight league goals putting him well clear of Alexander Isak and Joao Pedro, who sit joint second with five goals apiece.

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