Erling Haaland has the chance to move level with Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney in the Manchester derby goalscoring charts when Manchester United host Manchester City this weekend.
The Norwegian already has eight derby goals from just 10 appearances, meaning a hat-trick at Old Trafford would take him to 11 and alongside Rooney at the top of the all-time list.
Haaland closing in on Rooney’s record
The 199th edition of the Manchester derby promises another fascinating battle, with Haaland once again carrying much of the attention for City.
The striker has scored all eight of his derby goals in the Premier League and has rapidly climbed the rankings since arriving in Manchester. He is currently level with Joe Spence, Brian Kidd, Eric Cantona and Colin Bell, who all also scored eight times against their city rivals.
However, Haaland has needed only 10 matches to reach that figure, putting his scoring rate well ahead of most players above him on the list.
A three-goal haul on Sunday would take the 25-year-old to 11 derby goals and see him draw level with Rooney, who remains the outright record holder with 11 goals in 31 matches against City.
Haaland’s record at Old Trafford will be one area to watch, though. He has not scored at the stadium since 2023, adding another layer of intrigue to his latest attempt to climb the standings.
Rooney’s record under serious threat
Rooney’s 11 goals came across a remarkable 31 Manchester derbies, including eight in the league, two in the FA Cup and one in the EFL Cup.
His most famous effort against City came in 2011, when he produced the iconic bicycle kick that secured a 2-1 victory for United and remains one of the defining goals in the fixture’s history. Behind Rooney are Joe Hayes and Francis Lee, both with 10 goals, while Sergio Aguero and Bobby Charlton sit on nine.
Haaland therefore needs only two goals to move into outright second place and three to match Rooney, making Sunday’s clash potentially historic for the City striker.
With United looking to repeat their derby success from last season under Michael Carrick and City beginning a new chapter under Enzo Maresca, Haaland has another opportunity to leave his mark on one of English football’s biggest fixtures.