Man City vs. Brighton: Erling Haaland bidding to become a centurion and set new Premier League record

Erling Haaland will attempt to set a fresh Premier League record when Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The 24-year-old has spent almost three full seasons with the Citizens since joining from Borussia Dortmund and has established himself as one of the most deadliest strikers in world football.

Haaland has recorded an exceptional 118 goals and 18 assists in 136 appearances for Man City across all competitions, winning seven trophies including back-to-back Premier League titles in the process.

Man City's No.9 has won the Premier League Golden Boot in the last two seasons, netting a record-breaking 36 goals in just 35 games during the Citizens' historic treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, before scoring 27 goals in 31 top-flight matches last season.

This term, Haaland is bidding to become the first player since Arsenal icon Thierry Henry (2005 to 2007) to win three consecutive Golden Boot awards in the division.

The Norwegian has scored 20 Premier League goals in 27 games, but he is facing an uphill battle to win the Golden Boot this season as he has netted seven fewer than Liverpool's Mohamed Salah at the top of the charts.

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Haaland out to break Shearer PL record

Nevertheless, Haaland has the opportunity to set a new Premier League record this weekend en route to challenging Salah for the Golden Boot and he merely needs to contribute to a single goal to etch his name into the history books once again.

Indeed, Haaland has been involved in 99 Premier League goals in just 93 appearances since joining Man City, scoring 83 goals and registering 16 assists.

Should the striker score or assist in Saturday's game with Brighton - or in any of his next six appearances - he will become the first player to reach 100 goal involvements in fewer than 100 games in the division's history.

Haaland made Premier League history in September 2023 - just over a year after joining Man City - when he became the fastest player to reach 50 goal involvements in the division (41 goals, 9 assists in 39 games), surpassing Andrew Cole's previous record of 43 matches.

He is now bidding to become a centurion and surpass Alan Shearer, who recorded his 100th goal involvement during his 100th Premier League appearance with Blackburn Rovers in April 1995.

Haaland will back himself to make his mark in the final third this weekend, as he has already scored four goals and assisted one in four Premier League meetings with Brighton, most recently scoring the opener in Man City's 2-1 away defeat to the Seagulls in November last year.