Guardiola Unleashes Shock Starting XI as Man City Battles Mounting Crisis
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden found themselves benched as Marc Guéhi was handed his Manchester City debut in a heavily rotated starting lineup for Saturday's encounter against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In this matchup between Pep Guardiola's dominant City and bottom-placed Wolves, only one team entered the fixture with an unbeaten streak spanning four matches. While Rob Edwards orchestrates a late revival in the Black Country, Guardiola navigates through a period of struggle.
City extended their four-match winless streak with a shocking Champions League loss to Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday night. Following that sequence, Guardiola faced crucial choices: most notably the exclusion of the Premier League's leading goalscorer.
With Man City desperately short of form, Haaland and Foden have both been dropped from the starting XI by Pep Guardiola. pic.twitter.com/mClAEepG5h
This marked the first occasion Haaland was relegated to the substitute's bench in a Premier League match in 267 days. Having started City's initial 22 league encounters, the striker last occupied a top-flight bench when Wolves previously visited the Etihad Stadium on May 2, 2025.
The powerful Norwegian has accumulated an impressive 26 goals across 31 appearances in all competitions for City this campaign, though his output has noticeably declined in recent weeks. Haaland's sole strike in his eight outings since Christmas Day came via a penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Guardiola made the almost unheard-of decision to substitute Haaland with over 10 minutes left in last weekend's Manchester derby at Old Trafford, explaining the need for increased intensity during a lackluster 2–0 loss.
Haaland could scarcely be held accountable for that disappointing result—he barely had sufficient possession to make any meaningful contribution—yet it's clear that his stamina has been sapped by a demanding fixture list.
Haaland Running on Empty
Haaland Running on Empty
Prior to this weekend's matches, Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta was the sole striker among Europe's top five leagues to have featured more than Haaland this season, according to BBC Sport.
The 25-year-old has been rested for much of City's Carabao Cup campaign, yet still registers 31 appearances and 2,569 minutes of competitive play for his club alone. Norway has also utilized their all-time leading scorer on five separate occasions this season.
Haaland "accepted complete accountability" for City's disappointing 3–1 Champions League loss to Bodø/Glimt midweek following another subdued performance in the Arctic Circle, offering apologies to supporters for his inability to find the net while joining fellow captains in covering costs incurred by traveling fans.
Man City Lineup vs. Wolves (4-3-3)
Man City Lineup vs. Wolves (4-3-3)
Starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guéhi, Nico O'Reilly; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders; Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Antoine Semenyo.
Substitutes: James Trafford (GK), Nathan Aké, Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Phil Foden, Divine Mukasa, Max Alleyne, Rico Lewis.