Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund – Preview, H2H, Line-ups, Prediction | UCL 2022-23

Bernardo Silva of Manchester City against Shakhtar Donetsk in UEFA Champions League
Bernardo Silva of Manchester City against Shakhtar Donetsk in UEFA Champions League

Manchester City will continue their quest for their first Champions League trophy in history this Wednesday when they welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Etihad Stadium for the second group game of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League season. 

Venue: Etihad Stadium (Manchester)

Key Statistics

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last seven competitive games (W4, D3).

They have scored 24 goals in their last seven games.

The hosts have scored 4+ goals in four of their last seven games. 

They have won their last ten games at home in all competitions.

Borussia Dortmund have lost two of their three away group matches, conceding eight goals in the process.

The visitors have failed to score only once in their last 43 competitive games. 

Head to head

Manchester City have beaten Dortmund two out of the four times both sides have met in the UCL (D1, L1). 

Latest performances in all competitions

Manchester City: W-D-W-W-D

Dortmund: L-W-W-W-L

Manchester City 

Group G favourites Manchester City will look to maintain their impressive start to the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League campaign when they welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Etihad this Wednesday. 

The hosts got their latest quest for European glory off to a perfect start when they crushed Sevilla 4-0 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium last week. Two goals from Erling Haaland and further strikes from Phil Foden and Ruben Dias did the trick for Pep Guardiola’s side who stormed to the top of the table on goal difference.

The ‘Cityzens’ have been on a free-scoring run since the start of the season, netting 24 goals across seven unbeaten fixtures in all competitions, with five of those contests seeing four or more goals scored.

And so they come into this tie in hot form and with a perfect record in their last seven games played at the Etihad. 

While scoring goals was never an issue for Pep Guardiola’s side, it’s evident they’ve been taken to a new level by securing the signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. 

The Norwegian will run out against his former side desperate to keep his scoring run going. His brace week means that he became the fastest player in UCL history to reach 25 goals and his addition to the hosts’ attack might just be what they need to finally win the UCL trophy after many near misses in recent times. 

Possible Manchester City starting line-up

Ederson Moraes, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Sergio Gomez; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland. 

Injured: Aymeric Laporte

Doubtful: Kyle Walker, John Stones 

Suspended: None 

Borussia Dortmund 

While Borussia Dortmund seems to have moved on from Haaland, they still haven’t found the kind of consistency they need to challenge Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga.

The visitors have thrilled at times, but have also frustrated at other times. 

After opening their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 3-0 win over FC Copenhagen in Denmark last Wednesday, Edin Terzic’s side fell to an embarrassing 3-0 loss to RB Leipzig in the league over the weekend.

Although the result was just their second loss in 12 games, it showed the unpredictable nature of Terzic’s team who missed the opportunity to capitalise on Bayern Munich’s inconsistencies and go top of the table.

They can be expected to bounce back though given that their weekend loss was the first time they have failed to score in a competitive match since their 4-0 loss to Ajax in the UCL in October last year. That loss was part of their disappointing results that caused them to finish in third place in their group last year.

And so, if they are to improve on their disappointing UCL group-stage exit of the last campaign, then establishing better results away from Signal Iduna Park needs to be addressed. BVB lost two of their three away group matches last year, conceding eight goals in the process. So, they have to be in their most disciplined shape to stand a chance of beating a heavily favoured Manchester City side who they’ve beaten just once in their four previous H2Hs (D1, L2).

Possible Dortmund starting line-up

Alexander Meyer; Thomas Meunier, Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck, Rapahel Guerreiro; Jude Bellingham, Salih Ozcan; Marco Reus, Julian Brandt, Marius Wolf; Anthony Modeste.

Injured: Sebastian Haller, Mahmoud Dahoud, Mateu Morey, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Gregor Kobel.

Doubtful:  Donyell Malen, Karim Adeyemi, Thorgan Hazard

Suspended: None 

Prediction

Manchester City 3-1 Dortmund