Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
19-year old Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is one of football’s most exciting emerging talents, and the Norwegian sensation will be aiming to showcase his incredible goal-scoring prowess on the biggest stage again this week.
Haaland has already played a starring role in this season’s Champions League, notching a phenomenal eight goals in six Group Stage appearances for unfancied RB Salzburg before he sealed his January switch to Borussia Dortmund.
Following his headline-spinning transfer, the free-scoring forward started his career with Der BVB in typically showstopping fashion with a hattrick off the bench against Augsburg – a trio of strikes that kicked off a superb purple patch of nine goals in just six outings.
On Tuesday, Haaland will make his Champions League bow for his new employers in a potentially thrilling Round of 16 first leg tie between Borussia Dortmund and Ligue 1 behemoths Paris St. Germain in Germany.
Supporters attending Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday evening are anticipating fireworks and Haaland is certain to play his part in what should be a thrilling contest against the backdrop of an expectant Yellow Wall.
To help you get in the mood for the action, we’ve picked out some Erling Haaland betting specials ahead of Tuesday’s first leg tie. Check them out below!
Looking for more Borussia Dortmund vs Paris St. Germain predictions? Read our match preview to view our expert’s exclusive betting tips.
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Erling Braut Haaland to score anytime
Ok…let’s get the easiest one out of the way first. While Haaland’s football career is still in its infancy, the 19-year old’s goal-scoring record in the Champions League is already the envy of countless seasoned pros.
Haaland scored a whopping eight goals in just six Group Stage appearances for RB Leipzig in the first half of the season, running up his eye-watering haul from just four starts and two runouts from the bench.
The Norwegian international’s tally makes him the competition’s second highest scorer behind Robert Lewandowski, and having etched his name on the scoresheet on his Bundesliga debut, we’re backing Haaland to repeat the trick in his first Champions League fixture for Dortmund.
Erling Braut Haaland to score two or more goals
Haaland’s potent goal-scoring touch often results in the 19-year old scoring goals in multiples, as evidenced by his unparalleled goal-getting record over the past year.
When you factor in his record for RB Salzburg, Haaland found the net two or more times on an extraordinary nine separate occasions already this term – a belief defying sequence that includes five hattricks.
In a goal-hungry Borussia Dortmund side, Haaland should have plenty of opportunities to fill his boots even further this season, and the fair-haired finisher is priced generously to score goals plural against PSG.
Erling Braut Haaland over 1.5 shots on target
Unsurprisingly, Haaland’s outstanding scoring record is supported by some serious productivity in terms of his statistical attacking output.
The centre-forward is averaging 2.4 and 2.8 shots per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season respectively, and it’s interesting to note that Haaland has hit his mark with 1.8 of those efforts in both competitions.
Haaland rarely fails to test the goalkeeper when presented with opportunities to shoot and the Leeds-born striker is equally adept at finishing off either foot.
Borussia Dortmund have racked up an average of 16.7 attempts on goal per Champions League home game so far this season, and if Der BVB can maintain that average against PSG on Tuesday, Haaland should have little trouble beating the over 1.5 shots on target line.
Jadon Sancho over 0.5 assists
Jadon Sancho has consistently been one of Europe’s most productive chance creators this season, and the in-demand 19-year old has already set up 15 goals for his teammates in the Bundesliga and Champions League this term.
The flying winger’s powers of innovation have been particularly potent over the past couple of months, and Sancho bagged nine assists in his last 13 appearances alone for Dortmund.
So far at least, Erling Haaland hasn’t profited all that much from Sancho’s ability to thread a pass, and just one of the Norwegian’s nine Dortmund goals since January was finished from a Sancho delivery.
Nevertheless, Sancho has been delivering the goods in terms of assists for rest of his Dortmund teamamtes with startling regularity, and with his link-up play with Haaland also starting to show signs of promise, the England international is a prime candidate to boost his creative numbers again on Tuesday.
Thiago Silva over 1.5 tackles
When asked about Erling Haaland in an interview with French outlet RMC this week, PSG skipper Thiago Silva was effusive in his praise of the Norwegian saying:
“He scores a lot of goals. Nine goals in six games, it’s incredible, it’s huge.
“I hope that we will be able to be cautious and that he will not score against us, but rather after in the league.
“But for us it’s wonderful to play against a player like that, especially since he’s just started his career. He is very motivated, but so are PSG.”
It’s clear that Thiago Silva is expecting a busy night in Dortmund on Tuesday, and while the veteran centre-half’s takling stats are modest this season, we think the 35-year old’s workload will be a little higher than usual this week.
Silva has made two or more tackles in 11 separate appearances for PSG since last summer, and against Haaland and the rest of the attacking weapons in Borussia Dortmund’s armoury, were tipping him to make at least two more on Tuesday.
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