Liverpool and Man City could be without 9 players for FA Cup tie after Erling Haaland update

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been given 'special treatment' by Norway during the international break, missing the Netherlands match to ensure he is well-rested for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool.

Liverpool takes on Man City this weekend

Erling Haaland will be fresh and ready for Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool on Saturday, having been spared a face-off with Virgil van Dijk during international duty.

Norway's manager, Stale Solbakken, confessed to giving Haaland 'special treatment' over this international break, allowing the striker to skip his team's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday, where Van Dijk netted the first goal. Liverpool knows the importance of the game in its bid to end the season on a high.

Instead, Haaland is set to feature in Norway's friendly against Switzerland in Oslo on Tuesday evening, with Solbakken acknowledging he has granted his star forward some downtime this week.

"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," Solbakken explained ahead of the Netherlands match.

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

"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."

While Haaland is expected to be fit and available for City, Liverpool could be missing up to nine players for their journey to the Etihad Stadium.

Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo all remain sidelined with their long-term injuries, while youngsters Stefan Bajcetic and Jayden Danns continue to be unavailable for first-team selection.

Alisson Becker, who was absent for the Premier League fixture at City in November due to a hamstring injury, indicated that he anticipated being "out of action for a while" before the Brighton match, where he was deputised by Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Mohamed Salah was also unavailable for that fixture, though will be targeting a comeback in Liverpool's first outing since he revealed he will be departing at the season's conclusion.

Federico Chiesa appeared as a late substitute at Brighton but subsequently withdrew from the Italy squad through injury, and Alexander Isak continues his rehabilitation towards full fitness following the broken leg he suffered in December.

Arne Slot had previously indicated he anticipates having Isak back fit around the time of the Champions League quarter-final encounters with Paris Saint-Germain, and the Liverpool manager will address the media later this week.