Pep Guardiola provides Erling Haaland fitness update ahead of Manchester City's clash against Brentford

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has provided a heartening update about striker Erling Haaland aheaad of the Premier League trip to Brentford on Monday (February 5).

The Cityzens are in rousing form, extending their winning run across competitions to eight games and unbeaten in 11 since a 1-0 league loss at Aston Villa since December.

Interestingly, Guardiola's side have hardly missed Haaland, with the Norwegian missing 10 games across competitions due to a stress foot fracture since the Villa defeat.

Haaland made his comeback from a near two-month absence in the 3-1 midweek home win at Burnley and is expected to start at Brentford. Guardiola said that he has a healthy squad (as per Sportsmole):

"Yeah, he (Haaland)'s ready. Everybody is fit... I don't know if you saw the Burnley game, but (Haaland) played 30 minutes, and in every transition and every pass, all the players looked for him, so they know how important he is.

"We try to keep all of the strikers happy, especially him. It depends how we play. If we are comfortable, he will get a lot of balls, and after that, he will do the rest."

Second-placed City trail league leaders Liverpool (51) by five points but have a game in hand.

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How has Manchester City striker Erling Haaland fared this season?

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland is in the midst of a standout sophomore season for Manchester City despite missing nearly two months of action.

The 23-year-old Norway international - who netted 52 times last season - has 19 goals and five assists in 23 games across competitions. That includes a league-leading 14 goals and five assists in 16 games in the league, where City are eyeing an unprecedented four-peat.

Haaland has scored five goals in the UEFA Champions League, where City recorded a perfect group stage campaign and take on FC Copenhagen in the Round of 16 later this month.

Pep Guardiola's reigning treble winners are also alive in the FA Cup, where they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 last month to reach the fifth round, where they take on Luton Town.