Will Haaland shoot down his former club?

One of the most complicated tasks in European football at the moment awaits Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Wednesday evening. The Citizens with Erling Haaland welcome the BVB in the top match of Group G. The top spot in the table is at stake. But for the black and yellow to actually climb to the top of the table after two matchdays, the high betting odds on an away win would have to pay off in the clash between Manchester City and Dortmund.

However, it is currently rather unlikely that this scenario will come to pass. On the one hand, because the Sky Blues are an absolute power on home soil in the Champions League. On the other hand, due to the fact that Borussia lost the dress rehearsal at Marco Rose’s RB Leipzig with 0:3 at the weekend and left a rather fragile impression. Defensive weaknesses will also come back to haunt them, especially against City’s powerful attack.

There is every reason to make a prediction in favour of the English side between Manchester City and Dortmund. From a purely statistical point of view, a draw can also be virtually ruled out, as none of the last 17 away matches in the top flight involving BVB have ended in a draw.

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Manchester City are on target in the English Premier League after six matchdays. Although the Sky Blues surprisingly dropped a point at both Newcastle United and Aston Villa, they are still in second place, close to leaders Arsenal, and have the best attack in the league.

They have already scored 20 goals in six games. City have scored at least three goals of their own in five of their seven competitive matches. As the defensive zero was “only” scored on four occasions and the defence has already shown problems, it is definitely worth considering betting on many goals in the course of the match between Manchester City and Dortmund.

Citizens hard to beat at home in the top division

Apart from that, it would be a big surprise if the Citizens don’t get their second treble. Coach Pep Guardiola’s side have not only won their last eight CL home games against German sides, but are now unbeaten in 20 home games in the top flight. In this period, there have been 18 wins and two draws.

If the odds on a City win are too low, you can go for the handicap (-1). Alternatively, it would be an idea to bet on Erling Haaland scoring. Of course! Who else? The ex-Dortmund player has already scored 25 goals in this competition and only in 20 games. For BVB alone, the Norwegian scored 15 times in 13 matches. We wouldn’t even rule out a brace from the blond giant.

With Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez, by the way, two more ex-BVB pros could start against their old employers. After the strong performance in the previous week’s 4-0 win in Sevilla, there will not be many changes, especially as the Premier League matchday at the weekend had to be cancelled, as is well known, and Guardiola’s charges will therefore go into this home game rested. Laporte is out in any case. This match is also likely to come a little too soon for Walker and Stones.

Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Akanji, Gomez; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish

Last matches played by Manchester City:

Champions League Grp. G
07/09/2022 – Sevilla FC 0 – 4 Manchester City

Premier League
03/09/2022 – Aston Villa 1 – 1 Manchester City

01/09/2022 – Manchester City 6 – 0 Nottingham Forest

27/08/2022 – Manchester City 4 – 2 Crystal Palace

Club friendlies
25/08/2022 – FC Barcelona 3 – 3 Manchester City

Dortmund – Statistics & current form

It is still difficult to assess Borussia Dortmund’s performance. While some of their weaker performances were usually concealed with a good result, the 3-0 defeat at RB Leipzig left some questions unanswered. In particular, Anthony Modeste’s still too harmless offensive is a cause for concern. If there is no relief on Wednesday evening at the Etihad Stadium, a heavy defeat against the strong Citizens is imminent.

However, there is hope for a surprise from the opening match last Tuesday, which BVB won 3-0 against Copenhagen and thus set the first scent mark in this group. The two games against Manchester City are bonus games. It will be more important in the following two matches against Sevilla. The Black and Yellows will probably fight for second place behind the reigning English champions together with the Andalusians.

Is BVB too intimidated?

Despite this, the Terzic eleven should avoid being “shot down” for a second time within a few days. With Niklas Süle likely to be deployed in central defence once again and Anthoy Modeste given another chance to prove himself up front, it is obvious that the BVB coach will choose a deep starting line-up and focus on compactness. From a defensive or, at most, midfield pressing, Borussia wants to win the ball again and again and create switching actions. If a counterattack is then played through cleverly and purposefully, this increases the chance that the odds on many goals will pay off between Manchester City and Dortmund.

For the first time since October 2013, Dortmund are looking to win an away European Cup match in England. They have failed to do just that four times in a row. Even a draw would be considered a huge success, even though, as already mentioned, Borussia has not had a draw in 17 matches at the highest international club level. Ten of those 17 Champions League matches were lost, which once again underlines that BVB will go into this encounter as the heavy underdogs.

In goal, substitute Alexander Meyer will start again, as Gregor Kobel is missing due to injury. Also absent are Morey, Haller, Dahoud and Bynoe-Gittens. It would be all the more important if the sorely missed Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi could finally make their comeback. As things stand at the moment, the possibility of them playing is not ruled out. However, we do not expect the wingers to start from the beginning.

Predicted line-up of Dortmund:
Meyer; Meunier, Süle, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Özcan, Bellingham; Brandt, Reus, Reyna; Modeste

Last matches played by Dortmund:

Bundesliga
10/09/2022 – RB Leipzig 3 – 0 Borussia Dortmund

Champions League Grp. G
06/09/2022 – Borussia Dortmund 3 – 0 FC Copenhagen

Bundesliga
03/09/2022 – Borussia Dortmund 1 – 0 Hoffenheim

27/08/2022 – Hertha BSC 0 – 1 Borussia Dortmund

20/08/2022 – Borussia Dortmund 2 – 3 Werder Bremen

Manchester City – Dortmund Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

The clubs have faced each other in four competitive matches so far. In 2012/13, BVB picked up a respectable four points from two group games against the Citizens (1:1, 1:0). Two years ago, the Sky Blues were too big for them in the quarter-finals. The first and second legs went 2-1 to Guardiola’s side, who have won all of their last eight home Champions League games against German teams, not least because of that.

Manchester City – Dortmund Tip

Similar to the match the day before between Bayern and Barcelona, the Manchester City vs. Dortmund match also writes a very special story. Erling Haaland meets his old companions, but will let the friendship rest for 90 minutes. On the contrary: We expect that the Norwegian could (once again) be the man who decides the game.

BVB’s defence looked quite stable in the first few Bundesliga games, but recently conceded three goals in Leipzig. Now the Sky Blues’ attack is certainly even stronger, which is why we can’t imagine Borussia taking anything worthwhile away from the Etihad Stadium. Even a clear home win we think is very realistic.

We therefore try it between Manchester City and Dortmund with the odds for the bet on the handicap success  (-1) of the host. A win with at least a two-goal lead should be the result in any case. At the top, you can pick up a 1.50. Seven units is a reasonable stake.