Leicester City will face one of the most difficult tests in world football when they face Manchester City and Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian has become of the greatest stars in world football, scoring goals left, right and centre.
This season has been a bit more difficult for the 24-year-old however, with Man City struggling for form.
Despite this, Haaland and his teammates are still the favourites to win, which would match an unwanted 21-year record for Leicester.
He may be a global superstar, but Haaland will be hoping that one Leicester star is also playing after admitting that he took inspiration from him when perfecting his own game.
What Erling Haaland said about Jamie Vardy in 2022
Ever since his breakout campaign at Red Bull Salzburg, Haaland has been the most prolific striker in the world.
His performances earned himself a move to Borussia Dortmund, where he scored a hat trick on his debut.
By January 2022, the Norway international was the name on everyone’s lips.
During an interview with Sky Sports in 2022, Haaland revealed that one of the players he studied growing up was Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, who he described as being “the best in the world”.
He said: “I’ve been watching a lot of players, let’s take for example the run in behind the centre-back when the No 10 has the ball.
“You have maybe the best in the world at that, Jamie Vardy. I’ve been looking a lot at him on exactly this. I have always been watching a lot of football and I still do.”
Erling Haaland’s stats compared to Jamie Vardy
Haaland admitted that he has always been a huge fan of Vardy and judging from his numbers as a player, it’s clear to see he studied him well.
| Stats | Erling Haaland | Jamie Vardy |
| Appearances | 306 | 524 |
| Goals | 243 | 233 |
| Assists | 51 | 86 |
| Minutes per goal | 91 | 167 |
| Minutes played | 22,018 | 38,802 |
Furthermore, Haaland is playing in a team creating far more than what Leicester are doing for Vardy and despite being 13 years younger than the former England international, has actually scored more career goals.
One area of Vardy’s game where he is significantly better however is his assists. As he gets older, the Foxes captain has adapted his style of play to help benefit the team, as well as continue to get the best out of himself.