Pep Guardiola explained Erling Haaland was left out of the Manchester City team to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday to enable him to mentally and physically reset. Haaland was named among the substitutes for the fixture at the Etihad Stadium, marking the first Premier League match this season that he has not started.

The 25-year-old had led the line in City's opening 22 league matches. Omar Marmoush was selected to start up front in the Norway international's place for his first top-flight start since the victory over Brighton and Hove Albion on August 31.

"It's a lot of games," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "I want to a little bit clean his mind, his body and yeah the selection always is because I believe that is for today is the best."

Haaland has provided 26 goals across 31 matches in all competitions this season but has scored just once in his last five Premier League appearances. He was withdrawn in the 80th minute of last Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The withdrawal was significant. Haaland has been brought off 34 times during his Premier League career, but the loss to United was the first time that Guardiola has substituted him in a top-flight game that City have been chasing. United center-back pairing Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire earned considerable praise for the manner in which they kept the City striker quiet at Old Trafford.

Haaland subsequently played 90 minutes during the midweek Champions League loss to Bodo/Glimt. Marmoush was introduced for the final 20 minutes against Bodo after missing City's last nine matches in all competitions as he represented Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Speaking earlier in January, Guardiola had talked about the importance of Marmoush returning to enable him to rest an "exhausted" Haaland.

"Hopefully Omar will be back soon to give rest to Erling because Erling is exhausted but how you overcome things as a team is the point," Guardiola told a press conference.

The last time Haaland did not start a match in the Premier League was also against Wolves on May 2, 2025, a contest in which he was an unused substitute following over a month out with an ankle injury.

Haaland was one of six changes Guardiola made to the side that were beaten by United, with Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Rico Lewis, Max Alleyne and Nathan Ake all dropping out. Defender Marc Guehi came into the team for his City debut.

The decision to bench Haaland reflects Guardiola's recognition that the striker is not at his best. While fatigue appears to be a factor in Haaland's recent decline in form, whatever the reason, his performances have not justified a place in the starting lineup for this match.