Why Phil Foden and Ruben Dias are missing for Man City vs Nottingham Forest amid Erling Haaland boost

Erling Haaland has rejoined the Manchester City team, providing the Blues with a major advantage for their final five games in their quest for the Premier League title. However, there are now two new concerns for the team, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias.

Haaland was absent from City's recent two matches because of a muscle injury. However, Guardiola did not make a big deal out of it. Following the recent game against Brighton on Thursday, Guardiola mentioned that Haaland's condition was improving. This was further confirmed when Haaland was seen practicing on Friday. Now, the player has made a successful comeback and is included in the City squad for the upcoming game against Nottingham Forest, although he is only among the substitutes.

The team from the city was striving to stay in the same range as Arsenal, who were playing a game against a rival team from North London just before City's match against Forest. Liverpool obtained a tie on Saturday, keeping them one point below City. City has two games left to play, and they will still have one game left to play after Sunday's matches. Their last game will be against Tottenham and will be the second to last match of the season.

Don't forget to check out the live updates for Nottingham Forest versus Man City. You can get the latest team news, as well as the latest news on the talented Erling Haaland. See who scores the goals as everything unfolds before your eyes.

Guardiola admitted that Haaland was not fit enough to play against Brighton three days ago but he remains hopeful about the striker's speedy recovery. In response to stats that suggest City performs better without Haaland, Guardiola stressed that he would rather have the Norwegian on the team than not have him at all.

Haaland had returned to training and was included in the squad to visit the City Ground. However, Foden and Dias were conspicuous by their absence from the 20-man group. Foden had put up a great display at Brighton but had to come off towards the end. Dias had not played at Amex Stadium despite starting in matches against Real Madrid and Chelsea earlier that week. MEN Sport reports that they are currently unwell, which is why they could not be included for the Forest match.

During a television interview before the Forest match, Guardiola spoke about Foden. He stated that Foden was not prepared to play because he was ill and feeling uncomfortable. As a result, Foden had to return to Manchester. Guardiola acknowledged that these kinds of situations are common during the long season.