World Cup star Erling Haaland’s odds of titles with Manchester City next season

Erling Haaland arrived at the World Cup as one of football’s biggest stars and left as America’s newest obsession.

The Norwegian striker scored seven goals to light up the tournament, but it wasn’t just his performances that won people over. From embracing the quirks of American culture to leaning into viral moments, Haaland became impossible to ignore. The result? More than 50 million new Instagram followers in a single summer.

Norway were never likely to win the World Cup, but Haaland is the figurehead of a Manchester City team that is expected to challenge for English and European football’s biggest prizes next season. Fans planning to keep an eye on him should be in for a fun ride.

His Premier League side Man City have gone through their biggest change for a decade this summer, following Pep Guardiola’s departure. Guardiola is one of the most iconic coaches in the game, but he is now replaced by Enzo Maresca — a former mentee. Nobody truly knows how Haaland and his teammates will respond to the change in management, but they will be expected challenge for the biggest trophies.

Manchester City are 11/4 second-favourites behind Arsenal to win next season’s Premier League title. Their squad is one of the strongest in English football, and looks to be even stronger following the £116m summer signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.

Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Aké have departed the club since the end of last season, continuing City’s process of squad renewal that started 18 months ago. Maresca sees the game similarly to Guardiola, favouring control through possession, but the former Chelsea boss will still have his own ideas on how City should play.

In Haaland, Maresca has a striker he must provide with service.

The Norwegian isn’t always the most involved striker, often going long spells with relatively few touches of the ball. But his impact in the opposition penalty box more than makes up for it.

Haaland scored 27 goals in just 35 Premier League appearances last season, securing his third Golden Boot in four campaigns. His record haul of 36 league goals in 2022/23 still stands as the benchmark, and after the form he showed at the World Cup, there’s every reason to believe he can surpass it this season.

Last season was a transitional season for Manchester City as they rebuilt large parts of their squad. Even still, they finished second in the Premier League, running Arsenal close in the title race.

In terms of silverware, they lifted the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. It was considered an underwhelming time, which says a lot about the high standards at the club.

City are 5/1 to retain the FA Cup in 2026/27. The Etihad Stadium outfit have made the final of the competition in each of the last four seasons, winning it twice in the process. Manchester City have also been prolific in the Carabao Cup of late, winning the competition six times in the last 11 years. They’re 6/1 to make it seven times in 12 years.

Arsenal are listed as favourites ahead of Manchester City in all three domestic competitions for next season. Mikel Arteta’s team are the defending Premier League champions and will surely put up a stiff defence of their title with the Gunners boasting the depth to compete on multiple fronts.

But City have reasons to show confidence. Haaland played over 5,000 minutes for City and Norway last season, yet looks ready to carry his form from the last campaign into 2026/27. The 26-year-old gives his team an advantage in every match they play, due to his finishing ability and instincts for being in the right place at the right time.

The Champions League could be where Haaland makes the biggest impact.

City are priced at 7/1 to be crowned European champions for a second time their history, improving on a 2025/26 campaign that saw Haaland and his side knocked out by Real Madrid in the round of 16.

Manchester City have failed to make the semi-finals of the Champions League even once since winning the competition in the 2022/23 season, but Maresca has demonstrated his ability to guide a team through a knockout format by leading Chelsea to Club World Cup glory last year.

Last season marked the first time in more than a decade that Manchester City had gone two consecutive campaigns without lifting the Premier League trophy—a drought stretching back to before Pep Guardiola’s arrival. With Haaland leading the line and showing no signs of slowing down, City look well placed to return to the summit and add more silverware to their collection this season.