Pep Guardiola insisted Erling Haaland is the “best striker in the world” despite refusing to confirm if the misfiring Manchester City star will start Sunday’s crucial English Premier League (EPL) clash with Liverpool.

Haaland has scored just twice in his last 12 appearances, and Guardiola elected to drop him to the bench for City’s 3-1 win over Newcastle in the EFL semi-final second leg on Wednesday. He has suffered a significant loss of form after scoring 19 goals in 14 games in all competitions in a blistering start to the season that included become the fastest player to reach 100 EPL goals.