Socceroos captain Mat Ryan is bracing himself for the toughest task in football - trying to stop the goalscoring machine that is Erling Haaland.
FC Copenhagen's Australian goalkeeper, who never found Manchester City the easiest stamping ground, will have his work severely cut out in the Danish side's Champions League tie at the Etihad against the giant Norwegian who just can't stop finding the net.
Fresh from his latest thundering hat-trick in the 6-3 demolition of neighbours Manchester United, Haaland is not expected to be given a rest from his insatiable goal hunting on Wednesday as he seeks to add to the 17 goals he's already scored for City in just 11 appearances.
After his third treble in successive home matches, the 22-year-old Norwegian is set to be unleashed to go for four in a row, with World Cup-bound Ryan providing the last line of defence for the Danish Superliga champions.
Ryan moved to Denmark this season after a brief spell in Spain but knows all about the perils of facing English champions Manchester City, against whom he conceded 21 goals in seven Premier League matches when at Brighton.
The 30-year-old World Cup-bound keeper has settled in well at his new club and enjoyed a clean sheet at the weekend in a win over Aarhus but he's now facing a player in Haaland who is simply shredding the record books.
On Tuesday, City manager Pep Guardiola shrugged of the Scandinavian phenomenon: "At his age, no-one can compete with him.
"The numbers speak for themselves and inside, in the locker room, and on the pitch we see things that are not in the stats that make us feel happy to have him here."
Haaland currently averages a goal every 54 minutes for City, having had 42 shots and has also provided three assists, two of which came alongside his hat-trick in Sunday's derby win.
Now, he's out to add to his 26 Champions League goals from just 21 matches, and though Guardiola will be keen to give him some rest in what will be a busy spell, he also knows Haaland's nous could help City almost seal qualification for the last-16 with a third straight ECL win.
In any case, trying to stop Haaland is just the start of Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup's worries after he lost his captain Zeca to a serious knee injury for the season.
"Haaland is obviously one of the best strikers in the world at the moment - if not the best - and we will do what we can to limit his possibilities," said Neestrup.
"But there are also 10 other players we will need to be aware of. People talk about their big names but I am more impressed by them collectively."
