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Spain Can Qualify for Euro 2024 by Beating Norway

Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)
Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)
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Spain Can Qualify for Euro 2024 by Beating Norway

Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)
Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)

A look at what’s happening in European football on Sunday:

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING

GROUP A

Spain visits Erling Haaland's Norway seeking a win that will clinch qualification for the three-time European champions. A victory in Oslo will put Spain into the finals of Euro 2024 with two games remaining. Norway has to beat Spain to keep alive its chances of finishing in the top two.

Scotland is not in action, but the surprise group leader will qualify if Norway fails to beat Spain. Spain beat Norway 3-0 at home in March, when the visitors were missing Haaland because of injury. Also, Georgia hosts Cyprus.

GROUP D

Group leader Türkiye hosts Latvia and could qualify for next year's tournament in Germany if results go its way Sunday. Türkiye advances if it beats Latvia and Wales fails to defeat Croatia. A draw for Türkiye and a Welsh defeat will also see the Turks qualify.

GROUP E

First-place Albania is not in action but has the most to gain from results in the group. Albania is the only team that can secure its qualification if host Poland and Moldova draw, and if the Czech Republic fails to beat Faroe Islands at home. Albania leads the group with 13 points from six games. Poland has nine points, one more than the Czechs and Moldova.

GROUP I

Israel's scheduled game against Kosovo was postponed, leaving group leader Switzerland versus fifth-place Belarus and second-place Romania facing bottom team Andorra. No team can advance on Sunday.

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Dias Injury Latest Blow in Manchester City's Calamitous Run

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Manchester United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - December 15, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund in action with Manchester City's Ruben Dias Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Manchester United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - December 15, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund in action with Manchester City's Ruben Dias Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
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Dias Injury Latest Blow in Manchester City's Calamitous Run

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Manchester United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - December 15, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund in action with Manchester City's Ruben Dias Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Manchester United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - December 15, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund in action with Manchester City's Ruben Dias Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Manchester City will be without defender Ruben Dias for three to four weeks with a muscle injury, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday, another blow for the reeling champions whose hopes of hanging on to the Premier League title are dwindling.

City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday hoping to right the ship amid the worst run of results in Guardiola's managerial career that has them languishing fifth in the league table. They also have just one victory to show for their last 11 games across all competitions.

Dias was injured in City's calamitous 2-1 derby loss to Manchester United on Sunday, Reuters reported.

"It was a muscular injury, (after) 75 minutes against Manchester United he felt something. He is so strong and he stayed on the pitch and now he is injured," Guardiola told reporters on Friday.

Fellow defender Manuel Akanji, however, returned to training this week after suffering an injury early this month, "which is good for us," Guardiola said.

City lost to United in spectacular fashion last weekend, leading in the 88th minute before their cross-town rivals scored two goals in less than two minutes.

Guardiola looked disconsolate after, and pointed the finger squarely at himself for the shocking run, telling reporters during a long and heartfelt post-game press conference that "I am not good enough."

His mood had improved by Friday.

"I just finished a game where we were close to winning and we lost. For the sequences that happened I was not happy," Guardiola said. "I tried to be honest with myself here right now in six or seven days ago, (but) if you fall down six times you have to stand up seven.

"I am fine. I am a normal person with feelings like all of us. When a situation is going well we are better and when it is not going well professionally we are more (focused) on what we have to do."

Just two points and two places behind Guardiola's team in the league table, Aston Villa will climb over City with a victory on Saturday at Villa Park.

Unai Emery's team have also had significantly more success than City in their Champions League campaign, where they are fifth in the standings with two games left in the league phase while City are languishing in 22nd.

"I'm not surprised. Top, excellent manager. (They had good success) qualifying for the Champions League and the results in the Champions League they speak for themselves," Guardiola said. "They are handling it well because when I have been in many clubs handling both competitions, they have done really well."

City lost 1-0 at Villa Park just over a year ago before rebounding to thrash Emery's side 4-1 in early-April. Guardiola said, however, there was little he could glean from those games.

"Why do you have to compare what happened?" the Spaniard said. "The past is the past, this is a new moment, you have to deal with it."