Could Man City drop Erling Haaland?! Pep Guardiola insists he 'has to adapt' in response to suggestion of reverting to false-nine system to fix dreadful form

Some have suggested that reverting to the false-nine system that Guardiola deployed so effectively before Haaland's arrival could be a potential solution to the side's current woes. However, the revered tactician has insisted he's sticking with his main man up front regardless, saying: "To have an Erling, I have to adapt."

An explosive start to the season means Haaland is still the Premier League's joint-top scorer alongside Mohamed Salah with 13 goals in 16 games, so it's easy to see why City's manager is reluctant to switch things up in his attack. While the Norwegian hasn't looked great recently, ultimately he's been let down by supply issues, with the team's creative midfielders looking stale and out of ideas in recent weeks.

Asked whether he'd consider dropping Haaland and shifting to a false nine, Guardiola said: “No, no, I didn’t think about that. Always I play false nines for the quality – specifically the players [we play against] in that moment. In some games, for example, playing against man-to-man, against teams man-to-man: I love to play a false 9. But to have an Erling, I have to adapt.”

After scoring 10 goals in the opening five games of the 2024-25 Premier League season, Haaland now has only three in the last 11. It's a remarkable drop off in form and the Norwegian bagsman will be desperate to put things right in his team's final game before Christmas, an away fixture against Aston Villa at 12.30pm on Saturday.