Erling Haaland Odds – Premier League, Champions League & Ballon d’Or

by Luke Andrews, 29 September 2023

Erling Haaland is a name that is known globally for his fierce goal-scoring exploits. The Norwegian Viking is a perfectly built goal-scoring machine with an incredible physique, athleticism and attacking instinct. In this article, Luke Andrews highlights his career and most outstanding achievements, his Premier League and Champions League performances, and his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.

The post-Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era has had football pundits and experts mesmerised on who has the prospect of succeeding the two-footballing genius that has rocked and dominated the scene for over two decades. Erling Haaland has been one of the players showing promising talent to match alongside Kylian Mbappe, but today I’ll focus on the Norwegian superstar.

Last season, the youngster signed for Manchester City, and with hindsight, it was the missing piece of Pep Guardiola’s puzzle, helping Manchester City to their first treble, and Haaland won the Golden Boot in the Champions League and the Premier League.

The performances of last season show why the bookies have Haaland as the outright favourite to be the top scorer in both the Premier League (1/4) and the Champions League (7/4) for a second straight season. We will highlight the twenty-three-year-old impressive career that began in Norwegian outfit Molde, went to Austrian Red Bull Salzburg, flew to German Borussia Dortmund, and settled in the Premier League.

Erling Haaland – Career Overview and Achievements

Erling Haaland has lit up the Premier League as one of the most refined attackers ever to grace the best league in the world. He has strength, speed, and great attacking instinct in his positioning to be in the right place to hit the back of the net.

In his debut season in the Premier League, he broke the record for the most goals in a single Premier League season, bagging thirty-six. Beating the previous record of 34 that was shared by Andy Cole (Newcastle) and Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers).

Since his first appearance in 2017 for Molde, he has played in one hundred and nine games for both club and country, amassing one hundred and ninety-eight goal contributions (scoring one hundred and sixty-five goals and thirty-three assists.

That is more than one goal involvement per match, noting that in his early days as a player, he wasn’t as prolific as he is now.

In his time in England, Haaland has sixty goals in sixty appearances, forty-four goals in the Premier League and twelve in the Champions League. He was the top scorer for the league and Europe last season, making him a clear contender for the Ballon d’Or after winning the UEFA Player of the Year and the PFA Player of the Year.

During his time in Germany, the Viking scored eighty-six goals in eight nine appearances. Across the three seasons he played, he scored sixty-two goals in sixty-seven appearances.

In the 2020-21 season, he won the Champions League Golden Boot, scoring ten goals in eight European appearances with fifteen goals in thirteen appearances while at BVB. Haaland’s best goal tally was in Austria, where he scored twenty-nine goals in twenty-seven appearances.

Erling Haaland – The Early Days – Molde

The young Haaland started playing football with his home town club, Bryne, when his father, Alfie Haaland, played for Leeds United. He started the academy at age five, playing for the reserve team, scoring eighteen goals in fourteen appearances in the 2015-16 season. After impressive performances, he was quickly promoted to the senior squad at fifteen but failed to score a goal in his debut professional season, making sixteen appearances.

He started his career as a winger, but at this time, he rediscovered his natural, played better in the central role, and moved to Molde.

He played under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Norwegian outfit, scoring four goals in twenty appearances. His performances received praise from the former Manchester United attacker, who compared the style of play to Romelu Lukaku, one of the best attackers at the time.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed that he tried to sell Erling Haaland to Man United for £4m when he was the Molde manager 👀😳

🗣️ “I got in contact with Man United because we had this talented striker who they should have had. But they didn’t listen, unfortunately. Four million,… pic.twitter.com/dFjYIyVaQQ

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 13, 2023

He won the Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year award while finishing as his side’s top scorer after bagging sixteen goals in thirty appearances in all competitions.

Erling Haaland – RB Salzburg

Erling Haaland had already made all the headlines in Norway; it was time to make a name for himself in Europe. He forgoes offers from his former father’s team, Leeds United, to move to Austria, where he hit the ground running.

The first goal came in May in their 2 – 1 win against LASK after making his debut in February with the first hat trick came on July 19th in the Austrian Cup, thumping SC-ESV Parndorf 7 – 1. He scored two more hat tricks in six consecutive League goal-scoring appearances. In September, he made his first Champions League appearance, scoring a first-half hattrick to lead his side to a 6 – 2 triumph and his fourth hat trick.

📅 On this day, 4 years ago, Erling Haaland scored his first hat-trick in the Champions League with RB Salzburg! 🎩🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/EmRgYWLAtz

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) September 19, 2023

The Norwegian scored against Liverpool at Anfield and bagged two goals against Napoli, the second teenager to score in his first three Champions League appearances after Benzema.

Haaland had his fifth hattrick in their 3 – 0 victory against Wolfsberger AC in November. The same month, he came off the bench to become the first teenager to score in five successive Champions League games. A short stint left a considerable mark in the club and Europe, scoring twenty-nine goals in twenty-seven appearances.

Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund

A star was born in Austria but matured his game in Germany, overlooking potential suitors in Juventus Manchester United to move to Signal Iduna Park.

Haaland made an immediate impact in his debut, coming off the bench to score a hat trick within twenty-three minutes. He then scored two goals off the bench in his second match, where he came off the bench again, making five goals in two appearances and fifty-four minutes played.

Erling Haaland netting for Dortmund against PSG, 2020. pic.twitter.com/YTJfYCWtmL

— Throwback Football (@ftblthrowbacks) September 19, 2023

The Norwegian scored eighty-six goals in eighty-nine appearances for Dortmund, including fifteen in thirteen appearances in Europe. He led Dortmund to the 2021 DFB-Pokal Cup, scoring a brace and finishing the season with forty-one goals, the Bundesliga Player of the Season, and the Best Forward award.

Erling Haaland Takes the Premier League by Storm

Haaland’s time at Dortmund was running out, with his goal-scoring figures luring all the top sides, but Manchester City did their business fast and swiftly to bring him to his father’s former team.

#ManCity 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 an 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 in principle with Borussia Dortmund over the transfer of striker Erling Braut Haaland for £51.2M, one year ago 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆.

It was never in doubt. 😉💙 @ErlingHaaland pic.twitter.com/0lvII5eHnI

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) May 9, 2023

He debuted in the 2022 FA Community Shield, where they lost 3 – 1 to Liverpool. He scored a brace in his Premier League debut against West Ham.

In August, the boy from Bryne scored his first hat trick in England in a 4 – 2 win against Crystal Palace, his second career perfect hat trick. He became the player to score two hat tricks when he bagged three once again four days later in their 6 – 0 triumph against Nottingham Forest.

In the trend of breaking records, Haaland became the first player to score three consecutive home hat tricks in their 6 – 3 victory against local rivals Manchester United.

Incredibly, he was the fastest player to score three hat tricks, eclipsing Micheal Owen’s eight games in 1998 and Alan Shearer’s three hattricks in ten games set in the 1994-95 season.

By game fourteen, Haaland had already amassed twenty goals, becoming the fastest player to reach this milestone, eclipsing the previous record holder, Kevin Phillips, achieving it seven games early.

By game week nineteen, the Norwegian had already overtaken last season’s top scorers, Heung Min Son and Mohammed Salah, tally of twenty-three goals by two goals with just half of the games played. He surpassed Tommy Johnson’s thirty-eight goals in a season set in 1928-29 by March, scoring fifty-two goals.

They won the treble, but the Premier League had posed a difficult challenge with Arsenal, who led the table for a big chunk of the season, looking to run away with the title. The deciding moment was their head-to-head game, where Haaland scored a goal and provided two assists to clinch a 4 – 1 win and reduce the gap to just two points. It was their most crucial win of the season, which put them on course to overtake Arsenal and win the title.

He scored his thirty-fifth goal against West Ham in early May to set the new record for the most goals in a single season that Andy Cole and Shearer once set. He broke even with Thierry Henry for the record of goal contributions in a season with a combined forty-four.

The impressive season saw him win the FWA Footballer of the Year as the fourth player to win it in their debut season. The PFA Players Player of the Year followed in August, winning the Golden Boot and setting the new record for the most goals in a single season (thirty-six).

Erling Haaland Odds – Premier League Top Scorer 2023-24

Having highlighted Erling Haaland’s incredible performance last season, you can understand why the bookies have him as the favourite to win the Golden Boot for a second straight season. Manchester City is a team that completely fits the Norwegian profile as a traditional striker whose sole goal is to bag goals. Occasionally criticised for lack of work off the ball, the way Pep Guardiola sets his side with their possession football means Haaland doesn’t tire tracking back or working on build-up play. He can focus on hitting the ball in the back of the net.

The squad depth and talent around the attacker also play in his favour with Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, and Jack Grealish, who play behind him, able to find a key pass even with defenders around. The injury to Kevin De Bruyne is a massive blow as he was the player who created more assists for the Norwegian last season. Despite that, we expect him to shine this season, as he has already hit the ground running with eight goals in six games.

He is the outright penalty taker, and given how Manchester City loves to keep the ball and has many touches in the opponents’ box, there is a high chance of getting a penalty, and he hardly misses from the spot.

Erling Haaland in 2023:
60 goals
11 Assists
Premier League 🥇
FA Cup 🥇
Champions League 🥇
Super Cup🥇
PFA player of the year🥇
Premier League player of
the year🥇
UEFA Men’s player of the year🥇
Premier League Golden boot🥇
Champions league Golden boot🥇 pic.twitter.com/wH8RdG92ik

— Dougie (@dougiehulme123) September 25, 2023

Haaland is tall and robust to challenge the opposition for corner kicks and crosses. The boy from Bryne has mastered his art as he is not impressive, especially against top opponents. He usually makes his presence felt, but when he meets some of the lower sides in the league, he bullies them, bagging braces and hat tricks.

Pep Guardiola occasionally subbed the player and didn’t play the whole ninety in most of the games, and if he gets more minutes, he could match or improve his tally of last season.

Mohammed Salah is the biggest challenger for the title with the rejuvenated Liverpool side that looks motivated to reinstate their status as a title contender. The Egyptian king is also a penalty taker and a perfect fit for his Liverpool side occasionally; poaching forward with minimal defensive work rate makes him a real contender for the Golden Boot. He managed nineteen goals last season, has seven goal involvements (three goals, four assists) in six games, and has been in fine form to improve the tally.

Erling Haaland Odds – Champions League

Erling Haaland netted his inaugural goal in a UEFA competition on July 26, 2018, while playing for Molde. He debuted in the Champions League with Manchester City on September 6th and scored two goals, bringing his total to 25 goals in just 20 appearances—a record-setting achievement. In a match against his former team, Dortmund, Haaland scored a remarkable acrobatic goal that helped secure a 2-1 victory. This goal not only won him the Champions League Goal of the Week but was also chosen as the Goal of the Season.

On March 14th, Erling Haaland joined the ranks of legendary forwards Luiz Adriano and Lionel Messi by scoring five goals in a single Champions League game. He concluded the season with a total of twelve goals, earning the title of top scorer for the second time in his young career. He became only the second player, after Lionel Messi, to win the European Golden Boot multiple times before the age of 23. These outstanding achievements led to his nomination for the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, along with teammates Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi. Haaland ultimately won the prestigious award, a well-deserved honour.

Matchday 2 memories: Haaland being Haaland 🥵#UCL pic.twitter.com/M1LgALKVdg

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 29, 2023

This season, Pep Guardiola has adopted a different strategy compared to previous years. For example, his team has had a strong start in the Premier League, something that hasn’t happened since the Spanish manager arrived in England. Known for taking domestic cup competitions seriously by fielding his strongest line-ups, Guardiola deviated from this approach in a recent match against Newcastle. In a surprising move, he chose not to utilize his substitutes, leading to an early exit from the competition for his team.

My analytical perspective suggests that this is a strategic decision aimed at increasing the team’s chances for a second treble. The focus appears to be on the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the Premier League—competitions that could bring them significant glory. As it stands, Manchester City is favoured to win the European title for a second consecutive season, with bookmakers setting the best odds at 2/1.

This concentrated effort on the Champions League could be pivotal for Erling Haaland’s quest for the Golden Boot. He is likely to get more playing time, and the team as a whole will be highly motivated to succeed from the get-go. However, it’s worth noting that Haaland has yet to score in this context.

Erling Haaland Ballon d’Or and PFA Player of the Year Odds

The Ballon d’Or feels like a natural fit for Erling Haaland, who will be battling against one of the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi. Messi led Argentina to the FIFA World Cup title, the final missing accolade he longed for.

If it weren’t for Messi’s outstanding performances, Haaland, who didn’t even participate in the World Cup, would have been a strong contender for the award. Haaland led his team to a treble victory, winning the Premier League, Champions League, and the FA Cup. He was also the top scorer in both the league and the Champions League, bolstering his chances of winning the award. He remains one of the favourites for the honour with forty-four goal involvements, including thirty-six goals and eight assists.

The question now is whether a World Cup win carries more weight than achieving a treble?

Who Else Can Win the Ballon d’Or?

Here is the full list of Ballon d’Or nominees;

Other possible contenders include Haaland’s national team captain, Odegaard, who he praised as one of the best players he has seen. He has excellent tactical ability with the ball. His numbers in goal involvement account for twenty-seven in over a century of appearances but don’t reflect his significant influence on the resurgence of Mikel Arteta’s side.

Bakayo Saka is the other player who just won his second consecutive England Player of the Year award, with the two expected to make a mark in the Champions League and the Premier League this season.

Jude Bellingham (100/1) is an outside contender for the Ballon d’Or; even though he might not come close to the title this year, he would be one of the names to contest the award in the coming years.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian teammate Vinicius Junior, who has been injured, was one of the influential players as he led Real Madrid to their fourteenth Champions League title and is the other serious contender for the award.

Kylian Mbappe (66/1) has the spark just like Haaland, and approaching his final year in France, he will be keen to make a big move to a club that can exploit his full potential with Real Madrid his best destination and will have a real crack at the Ballon d’Or.

It’s a bit of a surprise to see some operators listing Ronaldo as the second favourite, as he can’t win as he wasn’t nominated. Most sports betting sites have Haaland quite lengthy odds behind Messi. Several bookmakers, including bet365, rate him as 9/2. Some punters might be tempted after his historic season with City.

“Most sports writers and bookmakers believe that it is a foregone conclusion that Messi will win what is almost certain to be his final Ballon d’Or. At 9/2, Haaland would be quite profitable, but it would be a surprise if he won.”

You can read more about this year’s nominees on our dedicated Ballon d’Or page.

Erling Haaland Odds – PFA Player of the Year

Erling Haaland won the PFA Player of the Year in his first ahead of Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones, who play together, Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, and former Tottenham attacker Harry Kane. It is no surprise to see Haaland already instilled as the favourite for the next one.

Haaland is currently one of the world’s top forwards, and at just 23 years old, his potential for improvement is immense. He made a significant impact in his debut season in the Premier League, a competition known for its fierce competitiveness. Expectations are high for him to excel again in the 2023-24 season and to secure back-to-back Golden Boots in both the Premier League and Champions League. The odds already favour him, and given his strong start with his team, he’s likely to continue improving.

I feel Haaland will miss out on the Ballon d’Or this year, but with Messi and Ronaldo moving to new pastures, I can’t see anyone else but Haaland taking football’s top individual honour next year.