Manchester City face Erling Haaland dilemma ahead of Carabao Cup final
Pep Guardiola faces a major selection dilemma over out-of-form striker Erling Haaland as Manchester City prepare to play Arsenal in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
The Norwegian international has seen his goalscoring numbers plummet since the turn of the year.
He netted an impressive 25 times between August and December, but has managed just five goals so far in 2026.
This dramatic decline raises serious questions over his guaranteed starting spot against the Gunners.
Guardiola’s tactical evolution
Manchester City are desperately seeking their first major silverware in two years this weekend.
Their manager has constantly tinkered with his tactical setup this season to unlock attacking creativity.
Recent experiments have included pairing the former Borussia Dortmund frontman with Antoine Semenyo or Omar Marmoush in a two-man attack.
The Catalan coach is reacting to a broader Premier League trend towards aggressive man-to-man marking.
Adapting to a shifting landscape
Teams across the division are increasingly relying on direct transitions and set-piece dominance.
We are moving in that direction.
Those were the recent thoughts of the City boss when asked about the shifting tactical landscape.
However, the Manchester side have scored a league-low 16.6 percent of their goals from dead-ball situations.
This need for verticality prompted the recruitment of rapid defenders like Abdukodir Khusanov to win individual duels.
Finding the perfect formula
Playing direct football previously benefited the prolific Scandinavian striker by cutting out patient build-up play.
Yet Guardiola’s men have frequently struggled to balance defensive stability with genuine attacking threat this term.
The team looks distinctly different from the dominant sides previously orchestrated by David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
Whether that means benching a generational goalscorer at Wembley remains the biggest question of the weekend.
