Erling Haaland has missed City’s last two games with a small ankle issue, and he’s a doubt for the Saturday clash at home against Fulham. While he’s been off the pitch this week and last, his heroics on it this season are having a massive impact in ways one might never expect. The tourist board of Halland, a Swedish coastal province, have spoken out about how their online and social media presence has been swallowed up by people talking about Haaland on the internet, and misspelling his name while doing so.
This might sound whimsical, or even funny, at first, but this is no laughing matter to Visit Halland Director Jimmy Sandberg. He wrote an open letter pleading with fans and journalists to make sure they spell Haaland’s name correctly.
Manchester City vs Fulham FYIs
Kick-off time/Date 3 PM, Saturday 5th Nov 2022, Etihad Stadium
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go here
After Extra Time Pod: Apple Spotify
PL Form: Man City WWLWW Fulham DWWDL
PL Standing: Man City 2nd, 29 pts Fulham 7, 19pts
Google Result Probability: Man City 86% Fulham 5% Draw 9%
“We are Halland. He is Haaland. The popularity of the football phenomenon is completely suffocating our online presence,” Sandberg wrote.
“To our despair, we now see that all of our efforts promoting Halland are rapidly being wiped away.”
Google Halland right now, it responds “did you mean Haaland?” So this is a real serious issue for Sandberg and his organization. And it is through no fault of his own. So please try to help him out, if you can.
Team News for Both Sides
Elsewhere Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips remain out, with both running out of time to be fit for the World Cup. Defender Manuel Akanji is a doubt with a knock and is a doubt. For Fulham, winger Neeskens Kebano ruptured his Achilles this week in training and he’ll now be out for at least until 2023.
Bobby DeCordova Reid is suspended, for being a yellow card generating machine. Meanwhile Layvin Kurzawa and Manor Solomon remain out of commission.
Paul M. Banks is the Owner/Manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly contributed to WGN News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.