Erling Haaland will endeavour to pick up from where he left off prior to the international break when Manchester City welcome Brentford to the Etihad Stadium for a Premier League fixture on Saturday afternoon.
The 24-year-old - and Golden Boot winner in the previous two seasons - has made an electric start to the new campaign, scoring seven goals in just three league appearances, and has unsurprisingly been nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August.
Haaland kick-started the season with a goal in a 2-0 opening win at Chelsea, before netting superb hat-tricks in 4-1 and 3-1 victories over Ipswich Town and West Ham United respectively.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Haaland's record against Brentford.
© Reuters
Erling Haaland's record vs. Brentford
Played: 3
Won: 2
Drawn: 0
Lost: 1
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Since joining Man City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, Haaland has faced Brentford competitively three times, with all of those encounters taking place in the Premier League.
The Norwegian's first meeting with the Bees was one to forget as he failed to make the net ripple or register an assist, despite playing the full 90 minutes in a surprise 2-1 home defeat in November 2022.
Haaland then watched on as an unused substitute in the reverse fixture in May, as City - who had already sealed the Premier League title that season - had one eye on both the FA Cup and Champions League finals, which they went on to win and complete a historic treble.
City's No.9 faced Brentford both home and away the following season (2023-24) and provided an assist for hat-trick hero Phil Foden in a 3-1 victory in February 2024 at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Just 15 days later, Man City secured a slender 1-0 win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium and Haaland scored the decisive goal midway through the second half, capitalising on a slip from compatriot Kristoffer Ajer before bursting through on goal and slotting a composed finish into the bottom corner.
Haaland will be looking to net his second goal in as many home matches against the Bees when Man City welcome Thomas Frank's side to the Etihad this weekend.
Oliver Thomas
