What to do with Erling Haaland in this week's Fantasy Premier League

Fantasy Premier League managers have been left with a decision to make after Pep Guardiola gave an update on Erling Haaland's injury status.

The Norwegian striker missed last week's clash with Luton with a foot injury and FPL managers would have been hoping the striker who is almost guaranteed to provide teams points would return against Crystal Palace.

However, Guardiola ahead of Saturday's match at the Etihad said he doesn't expect Haaland to feature but added that maybe the Norwegian can 'surprise' him.

So FPL managers have a choice on whether to drop Haaland, and if so, who they should bring in to replace him.

With that in mind, Mail Sport recommends that the Norwegian striker be dropped from teams this weekend.

Haaland appears unlikely to start tomorrow and also wouldn't pick up any points in GW18 due to City's participation in the Club World Cup.

There are two standout replacements who could come in to replace the Man City striker, in the form of Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and Bournemouth star Dominic Solanke.

Watkins failed to score in hard fought 1-0 victories over Arsenal and Man City, but scored in each of Villa's three prior games against Fulham, Tottenham and Bournemouth.

He is the second highest scoring forward in terms of points so far this season - with 99 compared to Haaland's 112.

Villa also have winnable fixtures with an away trip to Brentford on Sunday followed by a home clash with Sheffield United in GW18.

Solanke meanwhile has netted four goals in his last five games and is a cheaper option than Watkins at £6.7m compared to the Aston Villa star's £8.5m.

He has 73 points this season, and the Cherries play two relegation candidates in upcoming weeks in the form of Luton Town at home on Saturday and Nottingham