Liverpool know how to silence Erling Haaland - but Man City goal machine has ideal chance to run riot against the Reds at start of a huge week in Norwegian's career

Haaland was left frustrated in Salzburg's home fixture against Liverpool in his breakthrough season, being subbed off in a 2-0 defeat. His first game against the Merseysiders in a City shirt was the 2022 Community Shield, when he was surprisingly upstaged by Darwin Nunez in a 3-1 defeat.

The stiker touched the ball 14 times and missed a simple late effort when he hit the crossbar from a rebound inside the six-yard box. Guardiola exercised caution by remarking: "He didn't score. Another day he will score. He has an incredible quality on that and he will do it. He is going to help us a lot."

The coach was spot-on and in his next game Haaland scored twice against West Ham, his first strikes on the road to his record-breaking 36 goals in a Premier League season. But he has not really helped City beat Liverpool, at least not in the league.

The Norwegian drew a blank again the next time he faced Liverpool, the ill-tempered 1-0 defeat in the league at Anfield in October 2022. He did score in the Carabao Cup meeting between the two sides at the Etihad Stadium two months later although he missed their next fixture with injury. City barely noticed his absence though as they won 4-1 on the way to claiming the Premier League title.

Haaland scored in a 1-1 draw at home to Liverpool in November 2023 and he has not found the net against them since, drawing blanks in a 1-1 draw and 2-0 loss at Anfield while missing last season's 0-2 defeat at the Etihad Stadium with injury. It means that Haaland is still waiting for his first win against Liverpool in the Premier League.

Liverpool's results between late September and the end of October, when they lost six out of seven matches while conceding 14 goals, would have lifted Haaland's hopes of turning the tide. But in their last two games against Aston Villa and Real Madrid they have looked more like the team that swept to last season's title and who did the double on City.

And it was why Haaland warned: "We need to perform as a team and need to be all together, attacking Liverpool and defending as a team. We need to be ready because it’s not going to be an easy game. The competition between Man City and Liverpool has been amazing in previous years – pushing each other to get better and fighting for the title. It’s going to be a difficult game, and we need to be at our best."

Haaland could not be in better form or mindset though as he prepares to set the record straight on Sunday. He has scored 18 goals in 14 matches for City in the Premier League and Champions League plus an additional nine strikes in three matches for Norway.

That's 27 goals in 17 games for club and country, putting him on course to better that insane tally of 57 goals for club and country in 2022-23. Haaland was even prepared to admit that he has never been in a moment of form like this in his career. "It’s been a good start, and I feel really good," he told reporters this week. "I feel this is the best version of myself. I’ve never felt better than now."

Last month Haaland opened a window into his daily routine, showing his diligent process to recover from games and training sessions in order to avoid injuries. That routine includes red-light therapy, massages, ice-baths and saunas plus a diet of fresh fish, steaks and raw milk.

And after scoring against former club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to make it five goals in four Champions League games, he reiterated how important that routine has been to his current insatiable goalscoring form.

He explained: "To keep sharp, I need to keep my mind in the right place, I need to recover well, I need to get a lot of treatment, I need to eat the right things. I connect when I have to connect on the pitch and then relax as much as I can when I’m at home. It’s about maintaining the energy levels, being motivated and doing the things that are good for my body and for my brain."

It summed up Haaland's career when he was asked this week about breaking a certain record and responded: "Not to sound arrogant, but which record?" The milestone in question was Alan Shearer's all-time Premier League goal tally of 260. "I have to ignore them," he explained. "Thinking about records I can break is the last thing on my mind, I try to help the team win football games. That's how I need to think because I cannot think too much. I need to think in the present."

But there is an upcoming challenge which he cannot get out of his head: helping Norway qualify for the World Cup. And as soon as the final whistle blows on Sunday his attention will turn to Thursday's penultimate qualifier at home to Estonia and then the final game away to Italy on Sunday.

Haaland has been in ferocious form for Norway, spearheading their bid to qualify for a first World Cup since 1998 with 12 goals. Norway have won all six of their games and could effectively clinch that long-awaited qualification by beating Estonia as they hold a 16-goal lead over Italy on goal difference, the number one tie-breaking criteria.

Haaland predicted there would be "the biggest party ever" if Norway were to qualify and on Tuesday he made the bold claim that simply participating in a World Cup would be on the same level, if not even more satisfying, as all the trophies he has won with City. "The last World Cup [for Norway] was in 1998, two years before I was born, so I've been saying this for a long time: my goal is to take Norway to a World Cup and Euros," he said. "This is the main goal in my career and now I have a good chance to do it so it's about taking the chances."

With a once-in-a-generation achievement with his country on the line and a first league win against Liverpool up for grabs, it feels like perhaps the most important week in Haaland's career.

Not that he will be getting too stressed out about it, mind. "I try not to think about what people expect," he said. "I try to be free in my mind and not think too much. There are a lot of expectations but for me it’s important to stay in my zone."

The Haaland zone is a particularly dangerous one for opponents right now and Liverpool, the one team that have managed to remain relatively unscathed against him, are about to walk into it.

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