Manchester City welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash.
Understandably, Man City head into the first leg as clear favourites. But you’d be foolish to write off Dortmund altogether.
Another great step towards glory!🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/VEGKvn6u15— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 3, 2021
Another great step towards glory!🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/VEGKvn6u15
Pep Guardiola’s side head into Tuesday’s game having lost just one of their previous 34 matches in all competitions.
After picking up their 23rd Premier League win of the season at the weekend, Man City now find themselves 14 points clear at the summit of the English top-flight.
Better still, Manchester City remain unbeaten in the Champions League this term, picking up seven wins and one draw along the way.
It is also worth noting that Guardiola’s men have only conceded one goal in eight Champions League matches this term, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
Man City got the better of another German opponent – Borussia Monchengladbach – in the Round of 16, sealing a 4-0 aggregate win.
On the flip side, Borussia Dortmund suffered a 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt last time out, leaving them fifth in the Bundesliga – 21 points behind Bayern Munich.
Dortmund have only managed to win 13 of their 27 league games this season, registering ten losses to boot.
Having netted 55 league goals this term, Dortmund are the second-highest scorers in the Bundesliga. However, they have the worst defensive record in the top seven.
Dortmund picked up four wins in six games during the Champions League group stage, finishing three points clear at the top of Group F. In the previous round, Dortmund edged out Sevilla 5-4 on aggregate.
Man City’s recent defensive record is hugely impressive, but let’s not forget that Dortmund have scored in each of their last eight Champions League games.
Head-to-head: Man City and Dortmund met during the Champions League group stage back in the 2012/13 season.
Man City claimed a 2-1 home victory on that occasion, before the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Germany.
Team news: Man City have no injury concerns heading into Tuesday’s clash, meaning Guardiola has a full-strength squad to choose from.
On the other hand, Jadon Sancho, Youssoufa Moukoko, Axel Witsel, Marcel Schmelzer and Dan-Axel Zagadou are all unavailable for Dortmund.
We all know that Dortmund possess a threat going forward, yet their leaky backline is likely to be exposed by Man City’s free-flowing attack.
Forebet predicts that Manchester City will score over 3.5 goals en route to beating Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.