Erling Haaland given 'special treatment' as Man City handed title run-in boost

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has had his minutes managed by Pep Guardiola in recent weeks

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken has confirmed Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will start on Tuesday night when his team take on Switzerland in a friendly. The centre-forward was called up for international duty this month but did not feature in Friday night's 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands.

At the beginning of the international break, Solbakken explained that Haaland would be given 'special treatment' to manage his workload ahead of both the World Cup and Premier League run-in. "We have to take into account the overall load Erling has been under for a long, long time and based on that, we have concluded that the best solution for all parties is for him to get a necessary break now," he said.

"Our conclusion is that it’s best if Erling participates in at most one of the matches during this international break. We think it would be nice if he perhaps gets to show himself in front of the Ullevaal crowd against Switzerland.

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"It is special treatment precisely because of what Erling has been through both on and off the pitch. There is a huge amount of pressure on him, and for me it is by far most important that he delivers at the World Cup in June."

Ahead of the clash with Switzerland on Tuesday, Solbakken added: "He probably won't play the full game, but he'll start the game. We haven't fully determined [how many minutes he will play]. It could be a similar scenario to Amsterdam. That is, those who start the match will get a good hour."

In January, Pep Guardiola insisted Haaland was 'exhausted' and in need of a rest. City were unable to provide that at the time because Omar Marmoush was away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. Upon his return, Marmoush played while Haaland did not travel in the 3-1 victory over Newcastle in the FA Cup.

The Norwegian also did not travel to Leeds as Guardiola managed his minutes. Haaland has scored 30 goals this season but last scored in the Premier League in mid-February against Fulham.

Haaland did score in the defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 second leg and was substituted on 56 minutes despite City chasing the game. This decision was made with the Carabao Cup final in mind, a game where Haaland played the full 90 minutes.