Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund – 14/09/2022
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Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund will both aim to maintain their winning starts to this season’s UEFA Champions League when they meet at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
The two sides are locked on three points at the top of Group G, with Copenhagen and Sevilla sitting third and fourth, respectively.
A look back at our goals in August ⚽️@Xylem pic.twitter.com/zQSY2o28CN
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 12, 2022
Will Erling Haaland fire his new club to victory against his former side? Or can Dortmund upset the odds on English soil? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Man City, who head into Matchday 2 on the back of an empty weekend after their scheduled clash with Tottenham was postponed.
That means City’s last game was their 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla on Matchday 1. Haaland bagged a brace last time out, with Phil Foden and Ruben Dias completing the rout.
Pep Guardiola’s side are currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten streak at home in the Champions League, having reached the semi-finals last season.
It is also worth noting that Man City have made an unbeaten start to their Premier League campaign, securing four wins and two draws while scoring 20 goals in the process.
On the flip side, Dortmund come into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig. Believe it or not, they failed to register a single shot on target.
Consequently, BVB find themselves fifth in the Bundesliga table – two points behind first-place Union Berlin – after recording four wins and two draws in the league.
Dortmund made light work of Copenhagen last week, with goals from Marco Rues, Raphael Guerreiro and Jude Bellingham sealing a comfortable 3-0 win.
As a result, each of Dortmund’s previous five Champions League games have produced over 2.5 goals. But can they keep Man City quiet at the Etihad?
Head-to-head: Man City and Dortmund faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Champions League campaign. That season, City won both legs 2-1.
The two sides have faced each other four times in the Champions League over the years, with Dortmund managing just one victory during that period.
Team news: Man City have some defensive absentees at the moment. Aymeric Laporte will miss Wednesday’s clash due to injury, while Kyle Walker and John Stones are doubts.
Dortmund’s extensive injury list features Mahmoud Dahoud, Sebastien Haller, Mateu Morey Bauza, Gregor Kobel, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Thorgan Hazard.
Regardless of Dortmund’s easy win over Copenhagen on Matchday 1, the Germans are destined to struggle against Man City.
For that reason, Forbet predicts that Man City will score over 2.5 goals on their way to dispatching Dortmund.
