Pep Guardiola plays mind games with Salford ahead of Man City FA Cup clash

Pep Guardiola is keeping Salford in suspense over whether Manchester City star striker Erling Haaland will face the League Two side in the FA Cup. The Norwegian powerhouse has logged more minutes on the pitch than any other player in City's squad this season.

Guardiola plans to shake things up for Saturday's third round clash against their fourth division neighbors, but he remains undecided on whether Haaland – who has found the net 21 times this season in 2,386 minutes of play – should get a break. .

“You’ll see tomorrow,” the City boss teased at a press conference. “But he feels good. He had a few problems but we had seven days from West Ham to Salford and he recovered well. With the situation we have, we need everyone to be ready.”

“The year before Erling arrived from Dortmund he had problems but since his arrival, apart from one period, he has been very consistent in terms of injuries and fitness.”

“The hat-trick year was incredible. Last season he scored goals but struggled a bit. This season he showed incredible concentration. When you are focused and your goal is to 'Be fit, you're always fit.'

Goalkeeper Ederson is back after missing four games, but defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias are still out. Forward Oscar Bobb has returned to training after suffering a broken leg this summer.

Guardiola said: “It's good news for us. It's not muscular, it was a bone, a fracture and it's already repaired. It's obviously not in good condition yet but it's good news that he's back.”

The upcoming game is set to be a historic moment for Salford, who have risen from the non-league ranks to League Two prominence since their acquisition by legendary 'Class 92' Manchester United.

After five seasons of steady progress, the Ammies, now managed by Karl Robinson, find themselves in third place and eyeing promotion.

Their journey takes them to the Etihad on Saturday, where they hope to further elevate their status, and Guardiola has taken note of the ambition displayed by the club's owners. He said: “They've won a lot of titles, these generational players. They've earned a lot of money to be able to buy clubs. It's good.”

“There's Gary Neville, David Beckham, I don't know all the players involved but they're intelligent people and when football people run football clubs they always make intelligent decisions.

“They're in League Two and I'm pretty sure they want to progress like Stockport. The higher you are, the better your outlook.”

There is also a personal stake in the game for Guardiola, who has resided in Salford for eight years. He said: “I've lived in Salford for eight years, so I'm going to play against my neighborhood, my hometown where I live!”

However, Guardiola refrained from discussing speculation about Manchester City's potential signings in January, including Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt and Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens.

He said: “I know you're going to ask me questions all month about media links but I'm not going to talk about it. You can ask questions at every press conference but I'm not going to answer.”