Pep Guardiola spoke about Erling Haaland after the Manchester City striker was replaced at half time during the Premier League game with Fulham

Pep Guardiola played down concerns over an injury to Erling Haaland after the Manchester City striker was taken off half way through their Premier League win over Fulham. Haaland scored City’s third shortly before the break but did not reappear for the second half, with Omar Marmoush coming on in his place at the interval.

Haaland had been taken out in the build-up to the second goal but played on before he was taken off and told the coaching staff that he didn’t feel right. With the lead they had and the rest that can lie ahead for the Norwegian, Guardiola and his medical staff decided the best thing to do was not to risk anything.

“Niggles. Some problems, he didn’t feel comfortable, it was 3-0,” said Guardiola. “The reason why is too many games. Fatigue. He said ‘I don’t feel comfortable’. With 3-0 and with a lot of games and with having Omar, common sense.”

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The Egyptian was unable to make much of an impact, with City failing to offer a threat in a game that petered out and finished 3-0. Guardiola though was delighted with the performance that sees the Blues move to within three points of Arsenal before the league leaders play Brentford on Thursday night.

Haaland’s goal against Fulham means he has scored in back to back Premier League matches having netted just once, from the penalty spot against Brighton, in his previous seven. He has 28 goals in all competitions for City this season.

City are in FA Cup action this weekend against League Two side Salford City, before a free midweek ahead of the visit of Newcastle United to the Etihad in the Premier League. A sparse February ends with a trip to Leeds in the Premier League at the end of the month before games in four competitions in March including the Carabao Cup final.

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The Carabao Cup Final will see Arsenal v Manchester City at London’s Wembley Stadium this March.

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Elche will host Osasuna at the Estadio Martinez Valero on Friday in another round of the 2025-26 La Liga campaign. After winning four of their final five games of 2025, the home side have failed to come alive in the new year and have plummeted down to 15th place in the league table, only two points above the drop zone.

Facing off against a resurgent Real Sociedad outfit last time out, Elche entered the contest as underdogs and predictably faltered, slumping to a 3-1 defeat. However, head coach Eder Sarabia would have been proud of the effort his side put in at the Reale Arena, as they dominated possession in both halves and created a couple of good chances. They will hope results favor them this time around.

Osasuna, meanwhile, are enjoying a fine run of results in the league at the moment as they look to make up for their slow start to the season. Like their weekend opponents, Gorritxoak were also on the road last weekend, traveling to the Balaídos to take on Celta Vigo, who they beat 2-1 thanks to goals from Ante Budimir and Raul Garcia de Haro.

The visitors now sit ninth in the table and will be looking to keep their foot on the gas to avoid slipping back into the bottom half.

Elche vs Osasuna Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• Friday’s game will mark the 39th meeting between the two teams. In a historically closely contested fixture, Elche have won 11 of their previous encounters, while Osasuna have won three more.
• There have been 13 draws between the two teams, including four of their last five matchups.
• Elche hold the third-worst defensive record in La Liga this season, having conceded 35 goals in 23 games.
• Osasuna are the only side in the Spanish top flight this season to have scored as many goals (28) as they have conceded.

Elche vs Osasuna Prediction

Having lost five of their last seven matches, Los Franjiverdes are slight underdogs heading into the weekend clash but will hope to draw some inspiration from their home advantage.

Gorritxoak, meanwhile, have collected three wins and a draw from their last four games after winning just two of their previous six. They have picked up impressive wins in their last two away league games and should extend that streak on Friday.

Prediction: Elche 1-2 Osasuna

Elche vs Osasuna Betting Tips

Tip 1 – Result: Osasuna to win

Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Over 2.5 goals (Each of the hosts’ last seven matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 – Both teams to score: YES