Roy Keane has now shared whether he thinks Manchester City can beat Liverpool on Saturday without Erling Haaland.
The 52-year-old made the comments when speaking on The Overlap.
So, what did Roy Keane say about Manchester City and Erling Haaland? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, the Sky Sports pundit backs Pep Guardiola to defeat Jürgen Klopp – even if the Spaniard cannot call upon his prolific Norway international, who is struggling with a foot injury.
Keane told Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright: “City. Not comfortably, but I always fancy City.”
Neville quipped: “Without Haaland?”
To which Keane replied: “They’ll be alright, surely.”
History shows Manchester City are likely to be more than “alright” without Haaland against Liverpool.
Guardiola was forced to take on the Reds without his No.9 back in April after the 23-year-old was ruled out with a groin problem.
Nevertheless, Manchester City still steamrolled over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, recording a 4-1 win as Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish ran riot, both scoring as Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan also found the net.
Haaland has poor record for Manchester City against Liverpool
Interestingly, Haaland is yet to score for Manchester City against Liverpool in his one Premier League meeting with the Reds so far, as well as the FA Community Shield clash last term.
The Norwegian did – however – managed to score against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last season, while he also netted at Anfield when playing for RB Salzburg.
In total, Haaland – who recently claimed that Jack Grealish loves annoying people – has scored two goals in five appearances against Liverpool.
Therefore, Haaland should not really have much of a mental block playing against Klopp’s side, and if he is fit to start, Guardiola simply has to name his No.9 in the XI.
Ultimately, if the Leeds-born striker is unable to feature, the treble winners should still have enough firepower to beat Liverpool, with the likes of Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden playing alongside the aforementioned Alvarez and Grealish.
