Man City vs Dortmund – preview
Man City resume their campaign to conquer Europe, taking on Dortmund in the first leg of their highly-anticipated quarter-final battle. The Eithad Stadium will be the venue for Tuesday's 3 p.m. showdown as Guardiola's men look to put an end to their years of continental failure.
The Citizens' quest to win the UEFA Champions League is no secret. After spending heavily to conquer England, the Abu Dhabi-owned club now have their eyes on the one trophy they are yet to lift and that is the Ol' Big Ears. In their last three attempts, the English giants failed to get past this stage of the tournament, crashing out at the hands of Lyon, Tottenham, and Liverpool respectively.
Will things be different this time around? One thing should be noted and that is Man City's impeccable record heading into this fixture. De Bruyne and Co. currently top the Premier League table, winning all but one of their last 19 fixtures. Those 18 victories propelled them to a 14-point lead at the top and with the Citizens through to the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup semi-finals, fans are dreaming of winning the quadruple.
The Mancunians brushed aside fellow Bundesliga side Borussia M'gladbach in the last 16, beating the Germans 4-0 on aggregate to make the last eight. They head into this clash on the back of an excellent 2-0 triumph at Leicester, with Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus getting on the scoresheet. Pep handed rest to the likes of Gundogan, Cancelo, and Stones, meaning fatigue should not be an issue for the Manchester giants.
Pep's back-four boast an amazing defensive record this season, conceding only 21 goals in the EPL this season while registering seven clean sheets in a row in Europe. Unfortunately, this run will be put to the test when Dias and Co. come face-to-face with Erling Haaland, the world's hottest and most sought-after striker.
The 20-year-old has scored 33 times in 32 apps this season, meaning he's averaging just above a goal per game. He recently became the quickest and youngest player to reach the 20-goal mark in the UEFA Champions League with his heroics against Sevilla and will look to add to his name with an excellent display against Man City, one of several European heavyweights interested in signing him.
Regardless of Haaland's recent exploits, Dortmund have been struggling, and given that they are fifth in the Bundesliga table and in danger of missing out on the UCL, this could be their last Champions League outing until 2022 at the earliest. Can the Germans pull off an upset against the Premier League leaders? Tune in to find out.
Team news
Man City: Stones, Cancelo, and Gundogan were all rested in the 2-0 win over Leicester but should return to the lineup for this fixture. The Portuguese full-back is a yellow card away from suspension and is thus expected to be cautious. Sterling is expected to return to the lineup after coming off the bench at the King Power Stadium.
Dortmund: Jadon Sancho has a thigh injury and will thus not face his former club. Furthermore, both Dan-Axel Zagadou and Axel Witsel are nursing knocks.
Key stats
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Man City have not beaten Dortmund in two previous attempts, drawing one and losing the other when they met in the group stage of the 2012/13 season.
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The Citizens have triumphed 10 times in their last 11 UCL clashes with German clubs and have 12 victories overall, sitting behind only Real Madrid (26), Barcelona (20), and Man United (13) for most wins against German teams.
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BVB currently boast a seven-game unbeaten streak in this competition.
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This will be Guardiola's 60th game in the UCL knockout stage, with only Ancelotti ranking higher (62) than the Spaniard.s
Broadcast listings
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
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