The Citizens quest of a remarkable quadruple continues on Wednesday night, when they travel to Germany to take on BVB for the return leg. The 1st leg ended with a narrow home win, as the Germans were able to push their opponent to the limit. Can they take advantage of that away goal and seal the qualification at home? Or will Pep’s side prove to be too much for the underdogs? This is Borussia Dortmund Vs Manchester City – The Decider
Match Preview
Despite some contreversial refereeing in the last game, Dortmund put on a decent fight but could not hold on to the final whistle. BVB’s performance, along with the debateable disallowed goal, assure us that we will witness an epic duel on Wednesday night. On the other end, knowing Pep’s style of football, there is no way he is going their to defend and rely on the 1st leg win. Manchester will surely play their way, score goals and hope to seal the qualification. However, history is not on their side. In UEFA Champions League history, the side winning the first leg of a knockout stage tie 2-1 at home has been eliminated (15) more often than they’ve progressed (12). How will it end this time? Let’s take a closer look together.
Borussia Dortmund
Although BVB are playing some inconsistent football, where they have won just 1 game of their last 5, they still have enough talent to cause an upset on Wednesday. Currently in 5th place, 7 points behind 4th place Frankfurt, Dortmund are facing a crucial time if they want to play CL football next season and keep their star players. One of them of course is Erling Haaland, who has only failed to score in 3 of his 15 appearances in the CL, and has found the net in all 4 of his appearances at home (7 goals in total). Will he score against one of his admirers this week and possibly knock his “future” club out of the competition?
Dortmund head into this game with a huge 3-2 win against Stuttgart in the league. Edin Terzic will hope to build on that as they look to play their most important game in the season so far. If they want a shot at it on Wednesday, they must stay compact in the back. BVB have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 4 CL game, as they just scraped past Sevilla in the last-16 to progress 5-4 on aggregate. With a top 4 finish looking very much unlikely, we could see them go all out on the CL. Can they knock City out on their way for a European miracle?
Manchester City
After losing 3 of his first 5 meetings with Borussia Dortmund in all competitions, Man City boss Pep Guardiola is unbeaten in his last seven against the German side. A draw would be enough for his team to progress, but will he risk and play for it? The team’s defensive stats are reliable though, as they haven’t conceded in any of their last 4 CL away games. Can they make it 5 straight?
City head into this game on the back of a “surprising” 2-1 home loss to Leeds on Saturday. Despite playing with 10 men, Leeds United showed character and strength to come away with a late winner at the Etihad. Pep made 7 changes for that game, with Wednesday’s Champions League clash in mind. Can they bounce back where it matters the most? It’s safe to say that despite the loss, the league is still their’s to lose, as they sit 11 points clear in the 1st place.
Team News
Guardiola revealed on Saturday that Aguero is still dealing with some knocks, leading to his absence from the squad against Leeds United. It remains to be seen whether he can feature or not. However, the team have enough talent to replace him. In addition, Laporte was also left out of the squad for the Leeds game due to issues with his hip.
On the other end, Jadon Sancho returned to training for Borussia Dortmund on Sunday as the forward closes in on his comeback to first-team action following a muscle injury. However, it seems that the game will come too soon for him. Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Jude Bellingham were all subbed off on Saturday with possible knocks. Nonetheless the hopes are high that they will be available on Wednesday.
Prediction & Current Odds
Borussia Dortmund Vs Manchester City – The Decider. Bottom line is, we expect this to be an epic battle. Both teams have world class players that they can rely on to deliver, especially in the attacking part. With City’s latest loss, along with their FA Cup trip to Chelsea, BVB could be ready to “take advantage” on their home ground. However, they have to be solid defensively if they want to have any chance of going through. Taking into consideration all of the above, we expect this to be a high scoring game with both teams finiding the back of the net. Regarding the final result, it’s a tricky game to call. We could even witness Extra time or possibly penalties, since a 2-1 score is pretty much on the cards.
- Over 2.5 goals: 1.57
- Both Teams To Score: 1.57
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