Erling Haaland: Who could replace Man City striker against AEK Athens if he is injured?

Haaland has scored in six consecutive top-flight games to help City to the top of the table with a flawless start from their opening seven games of the campaign.

Against Ipswich, he scored his 100th non-penalty goal in the Premier League, reaching this milestone in fewer appearances than any other player.

Maresca said Haaland “can be available” against Athens and will be assessed after Monday’s training session, but that he was “quite good” on Sunday.

Players can find it difficult to feature as back-ups to Haaland, as Julian Alvarez and Omar Marmoush have found in the past, but it was a surprise when Divin Mubama was allowed to join Championship side Southampton on loan in the summer.

It left City without a natural replacement in Haaland’s absence.

Maresca has previously said Semenyo can be used “as a nine” but that plan is no longer available with the Ghanaian facing the prospect of missing up to 13 matches.

One option mooted by the Italian is midfielder Phil Foden, who ended his barren run in front of goal on Saturday by scoring his first Premier League goal since December.

“Phil can be one of the solutions,” said Maresca. “He played already in the past in that position so could play again, but at the moment the number nine is Erling.”

Could summer signing Iliman Ndiaye be another option?

The Senegal international was often deployed as a striker in Sheffield United’s promotion-winning campaign in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals to help the Blades return to the Premier League.

Last season, manager Pep Guardiola said Rayan Cherki fits playing in the false nine role “perfectly”, with the Frenchman scoring in a 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford when used in that position.