Erling Haaland will be looking to set a fresh Premier League scoring record when Manchester City travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.
Erling Haaland will be looking to set a fresh Premier League scoring record when Manchester City travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.
The 23-year-old has rediscovered his clinical touch in front of goal since returning from injury and has put himself in the driving seat to win a second successive Premier League Golden Boot.
Haaland scored in the second half of City’s 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest almost a fortnight ago, less than 10 minutes after coming off the substitutes’ bench, before taking home the match ball following a man-of-the-match display against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
City’s No.9 scored four goals, including a first-half hat-trick, to help Pep Guardiola‘s men win 5-1 against their West Midlands counterparts at the Etihad Stadium, extending the club’s unbeaten league run to 20 matches.
Haaland has now scored 25 Premier League goals in 28 games and despite missing around two months of the campaign due to injury, he sits four clear of his nearest challengers in the race for the Golden Boot.
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Goal machine Haaland closing in on another scoring record
Haaland’s prolific form this season has been recognised by the Premier League, as he has been nominated for both the Player and Young Player of the Season awards along with teammate Phil Foden.
The Norwegian striker will be confident of ending the season on a high and increasing his goal tally, starting with Saturday’s clash versus a Fulham side whom he has already had plenty of success against.
Indeed, Haaland has found the net five times in his three Premier League meetings with Fulham, including a hat-trick in Man City’s 5-1 victory at the Etihad earlier this season.
Haaland has scored a penalty in all three of his encounters with the Cottagers and if he nets from 12 yards again on Saturday, he will become the first player in Premier League history to convert from the penalty spot in four consecutive appearances against the same opponent in the division.
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Pep Guardiola: ‘Haaland loves to score goals’
Ahead of Man City’s trip to Craven Cottage, Guardiola has commented on Haaland’s enraged reaction to being substituted in the closing stages of the win over Wolves last weekend.
Guardiola has insisted that he has no concerns over Haaland’s reaction, telling reporters on Friday: “He loves to score goals and play like any other striker. His contributions when he arrived have been magnificent. The numbers are here, not just the numbers, many other things.”
Haaland has since confirmed that he was not “mad” to be taken off by Guardiola, telling Men in Blazers on Youtube: “I wasn’t mad for that, I was mad for something completely different. I was super happy that Julian [Alvarez] came on and scored. Of course I would love to score more goals, but I wasn’t mad about getting subbed.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola has revealed that he has a fully-fit squad at his disposal, with his title-chasing Man City side seeking to set an all-time English football record against Fulham.
The Citizens currently sit second in the Premier League table but can move two points clear at the summit with success over Fulham before current leaders Arsenal travel to Manchester United on Sunday.
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