Key Man City pair ruled out of Everton clash amid Erling Haaland injury update

Pep Guardiola has revealed that Julian Alvarez will not be available for Manchester City’s clash against Everton.

The Toffees sit just one point and one place above the Premier League relegation zone ahead of the trip to the Etihad Stadium.

And after four successive defeats, most recently a 2-1 loss to Wolves, things don’t get any easier as they prepare to face the current champions.

City delivered a 3-1 victory over Leeds United on Thursday night as they kept up the pressure on league leaders Arsenal.

Certainly, Everton face a monumental battle to get a result against Pep Guardiola’s imperious outfit when they meet on New Year’s Eve. But a small crumb of comfort will be that City will again be without Alvarez, who played a key role in helping Argentina to claim the World Cup earlier this month.

The striker netted four goals as Argentina clinched glory in Qatar, while he’s bagged seven times since arriving from River Plate in the summer. Alvarez has been celebrating Argentina’s World Cup triumph in his homeland and Guardiola has admitted the forward won’t return until after the turn of the year.

Still, Everton will have the thankless task of neutralising the threat of Erling Haaland. The prolific Norwegian bagged his 20th Premier League goal of the season against Leeds.

That’s despite Guardiola admitting Haaland is not at his best following a foot injury he’s still recovering from. The City boss said: “I think he is still not at his best because of the injury, to move his huge body is not easy for him but as much as he can play, minutes will be better.

“I had the feeling he is not at his best. It is a matter of time. [He is] always an incredible threat for the opponent. The numbers are unbelievable but I have the feeling he is not just coming here for the numbers, he wants to win it. Still, there are 70 points to play for.”

Ruben Dias suffered a thigh injury representing Portugal at the World Cup and reports suggest he could be sidelined for a month.