Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more
Manchester City will host Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League second group stage match at the Etihad Stadium. The fixture will take place on September 15, beginning at 00:30 IST.
This season, one of the best clubs in the world is certainly setting their sights on the long-awaited Champions League trophy. City are off to a good start, and this campaign could be viewed as their most tangible attempt in recent years. Borussia Dortmund, a vibrant and interesting side capable of dazzling even the strongest European hegemons, will try to thwart the plans of the favourites. However, luck is too much of a factor in their performances, and so far it is clearly not on the side of the Bumblebees. That said, Pep Guardiola has built a mechanism that can get the results despite any circumstances.
What will happen in this match? Are the Citizens capable of cementing their position as group leaders early? Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
Manchester City News & Current Form:
Over the past few seasons in the Champions League, we have seen that the most formidable opponent for Man City lies in themselves and, more precisely, in Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard is so obsessed with searching for perfection that, even in simple situations, he manages to invent such set-ups that the result turns out to be the opposite, in simple terms he just occasionally shoots himself in the foot. It is enough to remember how the Citizens were knocked out of the European quarter-finals when they played against a much weaker side, Lyon. It’s just that Guardiola has so confused his players with tactical refinements that they have played far worse than they could have. In the recent history of football, a term called “over-Pepping” has even evolved. That’s what Julian Nagelsmann is doing now with Bayern in particular, constantly over-pitching where it isn’t necessary – hence their worst start in 12 years, but that’s another story.
In recent years, the Spaniard is making such blunders less frequently. One last piece of the ‘perfect team puzzle’ came with the super forward, capable of scoring wherever and to whomever he wanted. We’re talking, of course, about Erling Haaland. The Norwegian will face his former team for the first time on Wednesday, a place where he was helped to proclaim his talent to the world. It was in Germany that he went from being just a promising young striker to a football star.
12 goals – that’s how many Erling scored at the start of the season for his new club. It literally took him zero time to settle in, especially in view of the contrast with Darwin Nunez. In comparison with the German period, virtually nothing has changed – the Norwegian continues to bag doubles and hat-tricks. What is astonishing is that he has already taken a serious swing towards the Golden Boot in his first season, now being the league’s top scorer.
Manchester City kicked off their Champions League campaign with a confident 4-0 away win over Sevilla with main heroes of the encounter being Phil Foden and Erling Haaland. The Norwegian sealed the brace, clinching the winning goal. A Man City product Foden notched one goal and recorded an assist.
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It was a well-deserved result, as the Sky-Blues were stronger on almost every aspect: xG 3.8 against 0.5; 24 shots against 6 (on target 9-1); corner kicks 7 against 1; and dangerous attacks 62 against 35. Sevilla only played better in tackles. 17 compared to 8 by the English club.
In the domestic championship, the Citizens are going unbeaten, although the start cannot be described as ideal for a team of this calibre. In six rounds, there have been four wins and two draws. Both draws came in away matches.
In the English Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s charges occupy second place with 14 points, being just one point behind Arsenal. The goal difference is +14, which is a best indicator in the championship.
There are no injuries or suspensions before the match, although Kyle Walker is doubtful. Hence, the team is coming into the match fully armed.
Borussia Dortmund News & Current Form:
Thanks to the acquisition of the Terminator, the Bumblebees have been able to delight their fans throughout the last two seasons. Again, credit must be given to the club’s scouting department. In each full season, Erling scored more than his two closest pursuers in the race for the team’s top scorer (41 goals in 20/21 and 29 in 21/22). At first, Jadon Sancho formed a hyper-link with the prolific poacher, and after the Englishman’s departure, Marco Reus established another efficient bromance with the Norwegian.
And the leaving of the rising star is quite understandable, something that hasn’t happened to the Yellow and Black for the first time, except things didn’t go according to plan at all this summer. Having sold сore Haaland, BVB splurged on a decent replacement, thus making Sébastien Haller one of the most expensive players in the club’s history. The move looked an interesting one, but dramatically the striker from Ajax was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the transfer and all Borussia’s plans collapsed.
With the season set to begin, Dortmund have been left without a proper centre-forward and have been forced to sign Anthony Modeste at short notice. The experienced Frenchman may be useful in the Bundesliga, but he is too weak for the Champions League. In addition to the loss of a player on whom they have placed ‘all in’, Borussia have now seven more players unavailable.
Such losses have an impact on performance and if before the recent match against RB Leipzig the ineffective attack was compensated by a confident defence, now, after the 0-3 defeat, it is unclear what to expect from the Bumblebees in the nearest future. Here we can also mention the shocking failure at the end of the match against Werder before.
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The 2022/2023 season in general is shaping up ambiguously, although Edin Terzic, who returned to his post to replace Marco Rose, seems to be able to keep the team afloat. But so far he has not brought anything good to the team’s game. They failed to take advantage of the mistakes made by their main rival, Bayern. Let’s put it down to the injury blow. So far, in the Bundesliga the Bumblebees suffered two defeats. One at home, and the second away. It is difficult for the Borussians to win, with three of the five victories coming by a minimum margin. Now they sit in fourth place with a total of 12 points from six rounds, two points behind the leading Union Berlin (GD +1).
Speaking of the UCL: the Bumblebees made a solid start with a 3-0 home win over Copenhagen. Such a convincing scoreline is fully backed by the stats: xG 2.22 – 0.36; shots 15 – 7; shots on goal 4 – 2; attacks 153 – 72; dangerous attacks 87 -20. While the visitors took more corners, 5 – 4, and were better at tackling, 14 – 6.
Altogether the last round yielded some extremely depressing signs for the Bumblebees, and not the idea to just avoid a thrashing from such a powerful super-attacking opponent seems only one possible option. BVB are not at their best at the moment. It’s unclear what Terzic will come up with to face this test with dignity against the English giant. The Germans’ attack is simply drained of blood. However, under Terzic, Dortmund rarely commit such failures, and the conclusions and work on mistakes are normally immediate. Plus wunderkind Karim Adeyemi could be reportedly available for the match, giving the coach extra options. So City fans should not expect an easy match for their club.
Manchester City form guide (all comp.): W-D-W-W-D-W
Borussia Dortmund form guide (all comp.): W-L-W-W-W-L
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Head-To-Head Record:
| Manchester City | Draw | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2 | 1 | 1 |
Borussia Dortmund, with Erling Haaland at the cutting edge, crossed paths with Man City in the Champions League quarter-finals and caused the English side plenty of problems, although they lost both games. The Bumblebees have lost minimally with the Norwegian, but now, with the club’s main trump card in opponents’ hands, even a minimal defeat would be a blessing, but it still needs to be earned.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Predicted XI:
Manchester City possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Akanji, Gomez; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Meyer; Meunier, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Ozcan, Bellingham; Brandt, Reus, Reyna; Modeste.
Statistical preview of the match Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund:
- Manchester City have not scored more than 3 goals in 10 of their 13 home games in the tournament.
- Manchester City have netted over 2.5 goals in each of their last 8 home games.
- Manchester City have won in each of their last 8 home games in all tournaments
- Manchester City have conceded in each of their last 7 home games against Borussia Dortmund.
- The German club have won by +2.5 handicap in 26 of their last 28 away matches in the Champions League.
- Borussia Dortmund have scored less than 2.5 goals in each of their last 4 Champions League away games.
- Borussia Dortmund have scored less than 1.5 goals in each of their last 6 away games against Manchester City.
What has been said before the match:
İlkay Gündoğan, City’s midfielder, ex-Borussia player:
“We hope for it [trophy]. This year having a proper number 9 playing as a striker is going to help us a lot. We will see and the Champions League is an incredible thing to achieve. It is never easy to play in this competition and sometimes little details can decide the outcome.”
“You should not regret anything and it was incredible to play in the final with this club. We will try to get there again and hopefully to do better to try to reach the maximum. We will try and see what will happen.”
Pep Guardiola, the Man City gaffer:
“They [Borussia Dortmund] know these players [Erling Haaland, Manuel Akanji] – also Sergio Gomez – more than I know, that is for sure.… They were there for a few years. They can benefit. We will see tomorrow if it is an advantage. But also, they know the Dortmund players, too.”
“We want a team to win tomorrow [vs Dortmund]. It is the World Cup ahead and we have to be there in the Premier League as well. But in the UCL we have to qualify too. We won the first game and in the CL at home you have to be strong. We are lucky that we don’t travel…”
Edin Terzic, the Borussia gaffer:
“Manchester City have become even more dangerous and stronger thanks to Erling. He has made an outstanding start here. City is a team that has scored 100 goals even without him. It’s not a big surprise that he’s scoring here as well, but we will do everything to stop him… City have incredible quality and power and they are among the top favourites in the Champions League for sure. They always manage 90 points in the strongest league in the world. Therefore, it is not an easy task for us.”
“We want to filter out what we have to avoid at all costs, what the no-goes are – and what strengths we have to use, what things we have to do to hurt them, what they don’t feel like doing. That includes speed on the wings. Speed is always important in modern football.”
“We have to be prepared for the fact that we might only have 20 to 30 per cent possession. So how can you hurt them in a situation like that? A year and a half ago we showed impressively that we can do that. And now, it will not only be enough to play a good game. You also need match luck and goalkeeper Alex Meyer has to have a great day because City can always score four or five goals.”
Edin at the pre-match presser
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction:
The visit to England does not bode well for the Germans. City are treating the Champions League fiercely, and even in the group stage, there will be no relaxation or underestimation. Plus the Sky-Blues will be well-rested and better prepared specifically for the BVB as they haven’t played in the weekend. Not so for the Germans, who lost a lot of energy against Leipzig, getting a detrimental effect ahead of an important match. The Borussians’ heavy injury issues don’t add to their chances either. True, these teams have changed a lot since the last time they met, but the Brits have become stronger, while Dortmund haven’t – something that is certain to be seen on the pitch.
Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: Man City to win with an individual total over 2 – Yes.