Former Manchester City defender Danny Mills believes Erling Haaland is an "enigma", which is why it is so hard to leave him out of the side.

Haaland has been a revelation since joining City in July 2023, and he has won the Premier League Golden Boot in both seasons so far, while also scooping up the Premier League Player of the Year award in his debut campaign.

He has scored 105 goals in 114 appearances in all competitions for City, netting 16 times this term already.

Haaland is averaging 1.09 goals per game in the Premier League this season, after making a record-breaking start to the campaign in which he scored 10 times in the opening six matches.

Mills, who played for City between 2004 and 2009, thinks the 24-year-old's high-scoring record comes down to the efficient way he approaches matches.

"Erling Haaland is a bit of an enigma," Mills told Stats Perform. "He's not your usual centre forward.

"We expect our centre forwards to either drop deep, be a bit of a playmaker and create chances, or put on a high press, work the channels, and have lots of touches, closing people down.

"Haaland stands in the middle of the pitch, makes the runs when he needs to, is very efficient, and puts the ball in the back of the net more often than not. He gets himself in good positions.

"We can talk about him missing big chances, but he's also scored an awful lot of goals. That's the thing — a centre forward will always say you're better off being in the position and missing the chance than not being in the position because the goals will come. Everybody misses chances."

Haaland also set the record for most Premier League goals in a single season in 2022-23, with 36, and he once again sits top of the goalscoring charts this term, though he has seen his goals dry up somewhat in recent weeks after his lightning-quick start.

The Norwegian netted his 12th Premier League goal of the campaign in City's 2-1 loss to Brighton before the international break, ending a run of three games in all competitions without a goal.

Nobody has had more shots than Haaland in the English top-flight this season (55), while only Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins (11) has missed more big chances than him (10).

Mills suggested that Haaland is held to a higher standard than other forwards in the competition, but says even when he is not scoring, he offers too much to be left out of the starting line-up.

"When we talk about patchy form for Erling Haaland, patchy form for him is still way better than most other players' form. It's better than 95% of Premier League strikers," Mills added.

"That's why he gets criticised for missing big chances, because we expect him to score every single time. But he's just different.

"I think it's very, very difficult to leave him out because he offers so much. He's so big, strong, powerful, and scores all types of weird and interesting goals at times.

"He occupies three or four defenders because they’re all worried about his pace in behind, his aerial ability, or what he's doing. Leaving him out would be a big, big call.

"It's not like he's going through a drought. An Erling Haaland drought is that he hasn't scored for two games. There are centre forwards all over the world who would love that to be their record, not their drought.

"So, I think we need to have some perspective. Yes, he might miss one or two chances, but he's a massive threat and a fantastic goalscorer."

Norway made light work of Kazakhstan as Erling Haaland's hat-trick inspired them to a 5-0 victory in the Nations League on Sunday.

Without absent captain Martin Odegaard, Norway were skippered by Haaland at Ullevaal Stadion, where the Manchester City forward netted his 25th career hat-trick.

Haaland took his total of international goals to 38 in 39 appearances by scoring twice in the first half before rounding off his star turn in the 71st minute.

The 24-year-old now has 22 goals in all competitions for club and country this season, and is the leading scorer in the Nations League with seven strikes to his name.

Alexander Sorloth scored Norway's third goal, while Antonio Nusa, who was heavily involved in both of Haaland's first-half efforts, got in on the act in the 76th minute.

Norway's victory ensured they finished top of Group B3 on 13 points, two ahead of Austria, therefore promoting Stale Solbakken's team to League A.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has said that a striker is “not a priority” for the club despite recent links to Erling Haaland and Viktor Gyokeres.

Deco affirmed the club’s faith in current number nine Robert Lewandowski, who is in form with 14 goals and two assists after 13 games in LaLiga this season.

Gyokeres, by comparison, has 16 goals and one assist in the Primeira Liga while, despite a dip in form, Erling Haaland has 12 goals in the Premier League this season.

Barcelona, however, are “happy” with Lewandowski and hope he will lead the line in the Catalonian capital for another season at least.

"First we have to know whether Haaland is what we want for the future. We don't know that now,” Deco told El Mundo Deportivo.

"At the moment we don't want any 'nine.' We have Robert. We are not planning anything with any 'nine.' It's not a priority because we have to focus on this season."

Lewandowski leads the Barcelona squad for shots (38) and shots on target (26) in the league, indicating the 36-year-old is still maintaining pace at the top level.

He leads the league for goals with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior coming closest to matching his tally, trailing by six goals.

"I think it's very difficult to find a striker like Robert nowadays. There are one or two of this level. Maybe Haaland or another one. There are not so many of this level available,” explained Deco.

"But we are not going to get hung up on finding any striker now because we are going to focus first on what Robert can do. I surely think he is happy to be here. He is a winner and if we have a big season I think he will want to stay.

"We want Robert to continue to be happy, to score goals and to stay at least one more season."

While the Pole is without a goal in two games, Barcelona’s rumoured target Gyokeres has not faltered.

The Swede caught global attention in Sporting CP’s recent Champions League clash with Manchester City, producing a hat-trick to help his team to a shock 4-1 win.

He accumulated an expected goals (xG) total of 2.41 in the match, accounting for most of Sporting's overall 2.87xG.

"Gyokeres is a good player. He has been scoring goals for some time in Portugal. We know him as we know others, but it's not a priority for us right now,” said Deco.

"When the time comes to make a decision and I have to make it because I am the one at the club, we will consider the options. But I don't think it's the right time to talk about any player."

Sporting CP captain Morten Hjulmand hailed his team-mate Viktor Gyokeres as a superior striker to Erling Haaland ahead of Tuesday's clash with Manchester City.

Sporting, who will lose head coach Ruben Amorim to Manchester United next week, face the Red Devils' fierce rivals in their fourth Champions League game of the season.

That contest will pit two in-form Scandinavian strikers against one another as Sweden international Gyokeres takes on Norway superstar Haaland.

Gyokeres has been a revelation since swapping Coventry City for Sporting last season, scoring 34 goals in the Portuguese top flight this calendar year.

That is more than double the figure managed by the competition's next-most prolific player, with Porto's Galeno netting 16 times.

Gyokeres' haul has come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 28.17, while his shot conversion rate of 27.9% also dwarfs that of nearest rival Galeno (19.5%) and he has scored 31 of 47 big chances in 2024.

His 61.2% big-chance conversion rate is the second-best of any player in Europe's top 10 leagues, behind Jan Kliment, who has managed a 75% ratio for Czech side Sigma Olomouc.

As Gyokeres prepares to do battle with Haaland, who has 11 goals in 10 Premier League games this term, he has received a glowing endorsement from his skipper.

Asked which striker was the better player at Monday's pre-match press conference, Hjulmand said: "Gyokeres, because he plays for Sporting."

Outgoing boss Amorim, meanwhile, knows Sporting's financial position means they will one day cash in on the Swede, who has been linked with several Premier League clubs.

"I don't know Sporting's plans, but if the right offer arrives they will have to sell," Amorim said on Monday. 

"He is an athlete who is at his peak and can give a lot, both in terms of money to his club, and income to the future club".

Gyokeres already has 16 league goals for Sporting this season, the most of any player in Europe's top 10 leagues ahead of Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who has 14.

Haaland is tied for third place, alongside Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Atalanta's Mateo Retegui.

Gyokeres has also been directly involved in 10 goals in 12 appearances for Sporting in European competitions (seven goals, three assists), scoring on all four of his European starts at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

He still has some way to go to match the Champions League exploits of Haaland, though.

The City talisman has been directly involved in 49 goals in 42 appearances in the competition (44 goals, five assists). 

If he scores or assists on Tuesday, he will become the fastest player to 50 goal contributions in the competition's history (43), overtaking Ruud van Nistelrooy for fewest appearances to reach that figure (45).

Pep Guardiola conceded Manchester City are in a "difficult position" with injuries after their 2-1 EFL Cup defeat to Tottenham on Wednesday.

Timo Werner and Pape Sarr did the damage in the first half of the fourth-round tie, though Matheus Nunes reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time.

That came after Manuel Akanji was forced to withdraw from the lineup through a warm-up injury, while Savinho left the pitch on a stretcher after the interval.

Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne are the other first-team options out injured, and Guardiola cut a concerned figure at the full-time whistle.

"We are in a difficult position with the amount of players," the Man City boss told Sky Sports. "It is what it is. It is normal. The limit of players is there.

"We will see on Thursday [for Savinho's injury]. Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker [have] no chance to play the next games."

City hold a one-point lead over Liverpool at the Premier League summit before the champions visit Bournemouth on Saturday.

Guardiola was, at least, encouraged by the performances of his youngsters, with James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly both starting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"Exceptional. The young players did well," he added. "They are so fast, and I am really pleased.

"If you play a game that quickly, they attack quicker. Of course, in the second half, there were transitions. They could have finished the game.

Guardiola opted to leave Erling Haaland on the bench throughout, suggesting it was not worth risking City's key talisman.

"The plan was not to play today," Guardiola confirmed on Haaland. "We have not had much recovery, and it was a waste of energy."

Manchester City battled their way back to the Premier League summit as Erling Haaland netted the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Southampton at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland was on target early on with a clinical finish from inside the area, though City were unusually profligate in front of goal for the rest of Saturday’s contest.

Cameron Archer missed the visitors’ best chance with an effort that struck the woodwork just before the interval.

Haaland passed up two fantastic chances to make the scoreline more comfortable after the break, though City ultimately got the job done to move top ahead of Sunday’s clash between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Southampton, meanwhile, are bottom of the pile, with just one point from their opening nine games. 

Data Debrief: Haaland on target, but not at his best

Haaland scored his 74th Premier League goal, 32 more than any other player since he joined the division in 2022. Today was just his third strike in a 1-0 victory, however.

But the Norwegian should have had more. He ended the contest having had eight shots, though only four were on target, contributing a whopping expected goals (xG) tally of 2.16 to City's 2.73 total. 

Pep Guardiola's side extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 32 games, with 28 of those coming in 2024 – only Chelsea in 2005 (29) have had a longer unbeaten run from the start of a calendar year in the competition’s history.

For Southampton, meanwhile, they are now winless in their last 22 Premier League games (D5 L17), the outright third longest such run in the competition’s history after Derby County (32 in 2007-08) and Sunderland (26 between 2002 and 2005).

Phil Foden and Pep Guardiola paid tribute to Manchester City's "freak" Erling Haaland after an outrageous volley in a 5-0 win against Sparta Prague.

Haaland netted twice on Wednesday, but his first goal dominated the post-match discussion.

An astonishing effort, Haaland's 20th Champions League strike for City, saw the forward acrobatically flick Savinho's right-wing cross inside the near post.

"If I tried to do that, I'd pull my groin," Foden told TNT Sports. "I don't know how he did it; I just think it's just his long legs.

"He's a freak, isn't he? I've seen him score one similar against Borussia Dortmund."

Haaland's stunning effort against Dortmund in his debut City season also came to mind for manager Guardiola.

"It's unbelievable," Guardiola said. "He's so tall and so flexible.

"It's very similar to the Dortmund one a few years ago. Unbelievable. I don't know which was more difficult, both very difficult."

Haaland is yet to lose a Champions League match in City colours. He has played in 23 of their 26 games in the competition since joining the club in 2022.

Indeed, City's 26-match unbeaten run is now a European Cup record, surpassing Manchester United's 25 matches between 2007 and 2009.

Guardiola ended that sequence as Barcelona coach, and he compared one of Haaland's fellow goalscorers to a former Blaugrana star.

John Stones netted City's third goal for his third in his past six matches. After Sunday's controversial winner against Wolves, he has scored in consecutive games for the first time in his club career.

"When Erling is not available, John can play as a striker," Guardiola said. "Gerard Pique in Barca had an incredible sense of goal, and John is the same.

"He's already scored a few goals. He's back and I'm happy for him."

Also back in the team and back in form is Foden, who is now confident he can put his slow start to the season behind him.

The England midfielder opened the scoring and added: "I was the best player last year, and that's what everyone wants to see. That's the standard I've set myself, and I want to get back to that.

"I don't feel pressure. I just enjoy the football and don't think about the outside. But I do put pressure on myself to get better. I always want to push myself.

"The aim is to hit what I hit last year. I showed over a long season I was consistent."

Foden is still waiting on his first Premier League goal of the season, but his European form has never wavered. This was his seventh goal in eight Champions League starts.

Erling Haaland scored an audacious back-heel among two goals as Manchester City cruised past Sparta Prague 5-0 on Wednesday to extend their unbeaten run in the Champions League to a record 26 matches.

Phil Foden, John Stones and Matheus Nunes also scored for Pep Guardiola's side, who have not lost in Europe's elite club competition since the 2021-22 season and have seven points from three games this season.

City are third in the 36-team league phase, set on their way at the Etihad Stadium by Foden's third-minute opener.

Although that was the only goal of a one-sided first half, Haaland had the City fans on their feet before the hour mark, meeting Savinho's cross on the volley with a stunning flick to double City's lead.

Stones quickly made it three with a header from a cross from Nunes, who also teed up Haaland's second before getting the fifth goal himself.

With Haaland substituted and denied a hat-trick, despite attempting nine shots, Nunes converted an 88th-minute penalty to complete the scoring.

Data Debrief: City still unbeaten with hit man Haaland

Although City exited last season's Champions League with a semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid, they are now unbeaten in 26 consecutive European Cup matches. That is the longest such sequence in competition history, surpassing Manchester United's 25 between 2007 and 2009, and coincides with Haaland's 2022 move to Manchester.

The City number nine has played in 23 of those 26 matches, scoring 21 goals. Only Ruud van Nistelrooy for rivals United has netted 20 Champions League goals for one club in fewer matches, doing so in 21 appearances.

Haaland will surely soon pass Van Nistelrooy's 60 career Champions League goals. His 44, including goals for Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, have already matched Didier Drogba's total at the age of 24.

Erling Haaland endured a miserable outing as Norway captain, with his goal-scoring exploits powerless in his side's 5-1 defeat to Austria in their Nations League encounter.

Haaland, standing in for injured skipper Martin Odegaard, watched on as his side suffered a second-half collapse at the Raiffeisen Arena. 

The Manchester City striker became his nation's all-time top scorer with a brace in their 3-0 win over Slovenia, taking his total to 34 goals in 36 games, and threatened to add to that tally when he struck the post in the sixth minute.

However, a dominant start by the hosts was rewarded when Marko Arnautovic thundered his side in front in the eighth minute with a fierce effort off the crossbar. 

However, Norway found themselves level six minutes before half-time when Alexander Sorloth headed Julian Ryerson's free-kick beyond the on-rushing Patrick Pentz. 

Andreas Hanche-Olsen's foul on Christoph Baumgartner inside the box proved to be the beginning of the end for Norway, with Arnautovic stepping up to score the resulting penalty.

Austria increased their lead soon after through Philipp Lienhart's header, with Stefan Posch nodding the hosts 4-1 in front after being picked out at the back post by Marcel Sabitzer.

The rout was complete in the 71st minute, with Sabitzer again the architect, teeing up Michael Gregoritsch with yet another header to send Austria joint-top of Group B3. 

Erling Haaland may have hit unprecedented heights for Manchester City but Marc Skinner believes Manchester United have a similar talisman in Elisabeth Terland.

United boss Skinner likened Women's Super League star Terland to City's Premier League hero Haaland after the Norwegian scored twice in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Tottenham.

That marked her first two goals for United since joining from Brighton, having first blasted a volley home before looping another header over Becky Spencer.

Asked to describe Terland, Skinner said: "Intense in a good way. She is a person who is always focused, she doesn't dip off her focus whether it's pressing or whatever the task is, she's all in.

"I think she knows Haaland personally and I don't want to compare the two but the immense and intense action of both of them, that's how she performs."

Terland's heroics helped to ensure United's 100% record in the WSL this season stayed intact, with three wins and three clean sheets from three games.

The former Brighton forward, who found the net 13 times in the league last season, appeared all over the place against Spurs, attempting a game-high five shots with three of those on target.

Her two goals came from an expected goals tally of just 0.65, though, suggesting superior finishing from lower quality chances, something that will delight Skinner.

"I came to a club that wants to achieve big things. I know playing in a better team will make me better," Terland told Sky Sports.

"Part of my job is to score goals, it is great to get the first one for the club. A good win and I am proud of the team."

United finished fifth last campaign and lacked a regular scorer, with Nikita Parris finishing the term as the club's top scorer in the WSL with only eight goals.

Skinner knows the tide may now turn, however, with Terland firing up top.

"I just think she's an incredible talent," Skinner added.

"The beauty of her is I think she slows the moment and sees the opportunity under the most immense pressure."

Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.

The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.

Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.

Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.

The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.

Pep Guardiola took off Erling Haaland against Slovan Bratislava to "take care" of Manchester City's superstar striker.

Haaland scored in the 58th minute to make it 3-0 to City in Slovakia on Tuesday.

He was taken off two minutes later, to be replaced by James McAtee, who went on to score his first City goal and round off a 4-0 Champions League rout.

With focus now switching back to the Premier League, and Saturday's clash with Fulham, Guardiola explained the substitution was made to protect the striker, who has already netted 10 goals in England's top flight this season.

Asked if Haaland had been frustrated to be taken off, Guardiola told City's media channels: "Erling is never disappointed with his manager.

"As a manager I am more secure and more happy when Erling is on the pitch.

"I will keep him on the pitch all the time but at 0-3 the game was almost over and with this amount of games we have to take care of him. 

"He had a big knock in the last game against Newcastle [United] so that's why, after the fantastic goal with the pass from Rico [Lewis], it was better [to take him off]."

There was a moment of drama during Fulham's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest last week, after Raul Jimenez took a penalty off the club's designated taker Andreas Pereira. 

Jimenez went on to score the penalty, but Marco Silva was not happy.

He said: "It's clearly the fault of Raul. It is not going to happen again.

"Has Raul apologised? Yes. He had to because he knows the rules and how important discipline is in our squad."

City are unbeaten in their last 29 Premier League games (W23 D6), and if they avoid defeat in this match it will equal their longest run without defeat in their league history (30 games between April 2017 and January 2018).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City - Erling Haaland

Haaland has scored 60 goals in just 52 games in all competitions at the Etihad Stadium for Man City. He is already the fourth-highest goalscorer at the ground since it opened in 2003.

Fulham - Andreas Pereira

Only Everton's Dwight McNeil (21) has created more chances than Pereira in the Premier League this season (20).

Five of these chances have been for Rodrigo Muniz, who has had more shots on target without scoring so far than any other player in the Premier League this term (five).

MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN

City have drawn their last two Premier League games despite opening the scoring in both (2-2 v Arsenal, 1-1 v Newcastle). The last time they failed to win three consecutive league games despite scoring first in each was in December/January in 2003-04 (D2 L1).

Since losing their opening Premier League game of the season 1-0 at Manchester United, Fulham are now unbeaten in their last five (W3 D2). They last had a longer run without defeat in the competition between August and October 2010 (seven).

Three of Fulham’s four Premier League wins against City have come at the Etihad Stadium (2006, 2008 and 2009). However, they are winless in their last 18 against them in the league (D3 L15), losing each of the last 13 in a row.

City have won each of their last 16 meetings with Fulham in all competitions, the longest winning run one English league side has had against another in history.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Man City - 72.6%

Fulham - 11.5%

Draw - 15.9%

Manchester City got their Champions League campaign up and running with a 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday, with Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee scoring.

The Premier League champions set up camp in Slovan's half and laid siege to their goal for the duration of the contest at the Stadion Tehelne Pole.

They only needed eight minutes to make the breakthrough as Gundogan scored his first goal since returning to the club after a single season at Barcelona, with his shot deflecting in off Kyriakos Savvidis.

Foden then doubled City's lead with his first goal of the season in the 15th minute, latching onto a pass from Jeremy Doku and curling a strike into the bottom corner. 

Haaland killed the game as a contest just before the hour mark, sprinting onto Rico Lewis's pass then stepping around goalkeeper Dominik Takac before slotting into the empty net for his 42nd goal in Europe's premier club competition. 

Foden then added an assist to his earlier goal in the 74th minute, teeing up youngster McAtee for his first ever City goal with a dinked pass.

City, winners of the 2022-23 Champions League, opened this season's campaign with a 0-0 draw with Inter and now sit fourth in the standings. Slovan, meanwhile, are 35th after also losing 5-1 to Celtic on matchday one.

Data Debrief: City equal United record

City's victory saw them stretch their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 25 matches, with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid last season the only blot on their record since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

It is the joint-longest streak in the competition's history, alongside Manchester United's run between September 2007 and May 2009, which included them lifting the trophy in 2007-08.

City have won 17 and drawn eight of their matches in that run, plundering 64 goals to just 38 by United on their streak.

They will have the chance to overhaul their neighbours outright on matchday three, when they host Sparta Prague.

Erling Haaland reached 100 goals for Manchester City on Sunday with an early opener in their huge Premier League clash with Arsenal.

The Norwegian raced onto Savinho's pass before prodding a nonchalant finish past David Raya to give City a ninth-minute lead, though the Gunners did respond through 
Riccardo Calafiori's stunner.

It was Haaland's 10th Premier League goal on just his fifth outing of 2024-25, and his 100th for City across all competitions in a mere 105 appearances – and exactly 100 starts.

Haaland took to life in the Premier League like a duck to water following his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, and his relentless goalscoring pace is almost unmatched among fellow modern-day striking greats.

He needed precisely the same amount of games to net 100 goals for City as five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo did upon joining Real Madrid from Manchester United (105).

The likes of Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich (136 games) and Lionel Messi at Barcelona (188) needed significantly more appearances to reach a ton for those clubs, while Sergio Aguero required 158 to bring up his own century for City.

Seventy-three of Haaland's City goals have now come in the Premier League, with only Aguero (184) and Raheem Sterling (91) netting more goals in the competition for City.

Sunday's strike also saw Haaland break a record he had previously matched back in his debut season with City in 2022-23.

Upon first joining Pep Guardiola's side, Haaland hit 10 goals in his first six Premier League games – the joint-fewest matches needed to reach doubled figures at the start of a campaign in the competition, alongside Mick Quin in 1992-93.

Hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham, as well as a brace against Brentford, have helped Haaland better that pace this term.

Haaland also set the record for most Premier League goals in a single season in 2022-23, with 36. 

With 10 to his name before the end of September, Haaland will surely be eyeing a new record this campaign.

Having won an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title last season, Manchester City have wasted no time in stealing a march on their rivals in 2024-25.

As the only team to register a perfect four wins from four matches, City already boast a two-point lead over their closest challengers, the identity of whom also comes as no surprise.

Such has been City's brilliance, that amassing 173 points across the last two seasons has not been enough for Arsenal to end their long wait for a Premier League crown.

However, last week's North London Derby victory over Tottenham saw them display all the hallmarks of potential champions, keeping their fierce rivals at arm's length in a composed performance as Gabriel Magalhaes' header made the difference. 

But can the Gunners go one step further and do what they could not last season – win at the Etihad Stadium?

Ahead of the biggest game of the season to date, we dive into the Opta data to bring you the best facts and figures surrounding both teams.

What's expected?

Given City's fearsome record at home to Arsenal, it comes as no surprise to see the Opta supercomputer make them favourites.

City are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League home games against the Gunners, winning seven and drawing two since a 2-0 defeat back in January 2015.

Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the supercomputer, City were victorious in 58.6%, with Arsenal only taking the spoils in 19.8% of scenarios.

A repeat of March's draw between the teams, which was not enough for Arsenal to get over the line in the title race, is assigned a 21.6% likelihood.

Whatever happens, something has to give on Sunday. City have won each of their last 13 Premier League matches, and there have only ever been six cases of a team winning 14 or more in a row. 

City – and current boss Pep Guardiola – are responsible for half of those instances, winning 18 straight in 2017, 15 in a row in 2019 and the same amount in 2021.

Arsenal, though, have not trailed at any stage in their last 11 away Premier League matches. They could become the first team in the competition's history to go 12 straight road games without falling behind, with Aston Villa also enjoying an 11-game run back in 1998.

Haaland the centurion?

Erling Haaland was frustrated as City fired a blank in their midweek Champions League opener versus Inter, going close twice in the first half but failing to bring up his 100th goal for the club.

The Norwegian reached 99 goals in City blue with a brace in last weekend's comeback win over Brentford, and he has now scored a scarcely believable nine goals in four Premier League games this season.

Eight of those have come in his last three league outings – hat-tricks versus Ipswich Town and West Ham, and a double against Brentford. 

In Premier League history, only Luis Suarez has ever scored multiple goals in four straight appearances, netting one hat-trick and three braces in a tremendous run for Liverpool in December 2013.

Another goal here would also see Haaland smash the record for the fewest games taken to reach double figures for Premier League goals at the start of a season, with Mick Quinn in 1992-93 and Haaland himself in 2022-23 previously doing so in six outings.

Haaland's overall tally of 72 Premier League goals – which have come in just 70 appearances – places him third in City's all-time goalscoring charts in the competition, behind only Sergio Aguero (184) and Raheem Sterling (91) – who could line up for Arsenal on Sunday after arriving on loan from Chelsea.

Should Haaland find the net on Sunday, which could be his 105th appearance for City overall, he would match the number of games Cristiano Ronaldo required to hit a ton of goals for Real Madrid.

For further context, Lionel Messi needed 188 to bring up a century for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski required 136 at Bayern Munich and City legend Aguero took 158 matches.

With the pretenders to City's throne in town, what better time for Haaland to bring up yet another goalscoring landmark?

Fortune favours the brave?

Arsenal did come out on top in their duels with City last season, taking four points via a 1-0 home win and their hard-fought goalless draw at the Etihad. 

That is double the number they managed in their previous 15 league meetings with the Citizens, recording two draws and 13 defeats. 

Both Guardiola and Mikel Arteta were cautious in their Easter-Day draw, with many onlookers berating the sight of eight (yes, eight) recognised centre-backs starting in a game that produced a mere 1.68 expected goals (xG) in total. 

Arsenal managed two clean sheets against Guardiola's men last term, having conceded in 16 straight against them beforehand, shipping 40 goals in total in that run.

Arsenal then followed that draw by winning eight of their last nine games of the season, only slipping up in a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa, but it was not enough. For a team trying to dethrone City, it often feels as though nothing is.

If the Gunners are to make it third time lucky in their pursuit of title glory this term, they may need to take both of their chances to beat City.

While Arteta figured out a way to contain City in 2023-24, his team must show more attacking enterprise on Sunday than they did on their last trip to the Etihad, when their six shots totalled just 0.66 xG. That was their fewest attempts in a single Premier League fixture since November 2021, when they had five in a 4-0 loss at Liverpool.

Arsenal also managed just 15 touches in City's box to their opponents' 40, their fewest in any Premier League match last season, while only at Bournemouth (28 in a ruthless 4-0 win) did they play fewer passes into the final third last term (36).

The Gunners have been steady, rather than spectacular, through their opening four matches of the season, ranking joint-14th in the Premier League for shots (45) and 14th for xG (4.99) despite having the fourth-most touches in opposition areas (140).

Loathe as he may be to do so, Arteta might need to take the handbrake off on Sunday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City – Jeremy Doku

Doku was limited to the role of substitute as City were kept at bay by Inter on Wednesday, but it would be no surprise to see Guardiola inject his electric pace from the off here.

The Belgium international leads all players in the Premier League this season for total progress upfield during carries (747.81 metres) and ranks second for progressive carries (64), behind only Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke (66). In fact, he is the only non-centre-back to make the top seven for that particular metric.

Arsenal – Bukayo Saka

Saka has been involved in five of Arsenal's six Premier League goals so far this season (one goal, four assists), assisting a goal in all four games so far.

In Premier League history, only Gunners great Thierry Henry (2004-05) has provided an assist in each of a team's first five matches in a season.