Borussia Dortmund will host Man City in the return leg of the quarter-final after losing 2 -1 away
Stadium: Signal Iduna Park
Key Statistics
- Manchester City edged out Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, but they will be aware of the latter’s crucial away goal.
- Dortmund had previously beaten City at home on one occasion, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Germans
- Die Borussen have lost six of their last seven games in the knockouts whenever they trail on aggregate after the first leg.
Manchester City
Manchester City struck earlier in the first leg, but they couldn’t prevent Dortmund from scoring a crucial away goal. However, Phil Foden was there to rescue the Citizens with a late winning goal.
However, their recent setback against Leeds United, though it will not have a sounding effect on the title race, must have reduced their confidence.
Pep Guardiola would likely recall both Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez to the starting line-up after benching them in the weekend’s Premier League game against Leeds United. De Bruyne’s presence would be vital for Citizens as he scored the opener in the first leg.
Possible line-up:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gündoğan; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden
Doubtful: Agüero (unspecified), Laporte (hip)
Misses next match if booked: Fernandinho, Joao Cancelo
We have to try and execute our plan. It doesn’t matter what happens in the first leg, you have a chance in the second. Our idea is to go there and do as best as possible and let them feel we are not going to defend what we got here. We want to impose our game to win the game.
It’s a pleasure to be again here [in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals]. Next season it will be again because we have already qualified for the Champions League. We train, fly there, have a good dinner. We are looking forward to it. Nothing is guaranteed. We had a good result in our first game. We will play to try and win.
Pep Guardiola, Man. City manager
Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Zack Steffen, Aymeric Laporte, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ferran Torres, Benjamin Mendy, Fernandinho, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo, Ederson, Phil Foden, Eric Garcia and James Trafford.
22 Manchester City players travelling to Germany
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund, who have been rather disappointing in Bundesliga this season, will be coming off a thrilling win against Stuttgart, yet it leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, Die Borussen would look to leave their lacklustre league run behind them and instead look forward to the clash against the Premier League leaders, holding an away goal advantage.
Edin Terzic has big concerns ahead of the clash after injuries to key players Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Matt Hummels but the latter two are likely to feature in the starting eleven.
Erling Haaland would look to return to his best after failing to score in the first leg and against Stuttgart.
Possible Manchester City line-ups
Hitz; Morey, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro; Emre Can, Dahoud, Bellingham; Reus, Haaland, Hazard
Unavailable: Moukoko (foot), Sancho (thigh), Schmelzer (knee), Witsel (achilles), Zagadou (knee)
Misses next match if booked: Can, Haaland
The development of Jude Bellingham does not surprise anyone here. We see how he trains and works. He’s a great talent and a fantastic player, but above all he’s young. We support him everywhere and try to develop him in the best possible way.
Erling Haaland was an extremely important factor for us in the last few games, even if he didn’t score. He’s always running and binds players. As a team, we of course hope that he scores again soon.
Edin Terzic, Dortmund Manager on Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland
Betting Odds
Borussia Dortmund : Draw : Manchester City ::
Prediction
Manchester City 2 – 0 Dortmund
