Manchester City faltered at the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League last season and will look to go one better this time around when they take on Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Given what we know of the team news, what kind of squad might Pep Guardiola put out on the pitch here?
City suffered a rare domestic defeat at the weekend as they conceded a last-minute winner to Leeds United. They will need to be a bit more alert when they face the German giants as they have many players who can really punish the visitors.
Having a lead from the first leg will give the English side some confidence heading into this game. But the away goal that Dortmund scored could still have a huge say on the outcome of this tie. If City play to their strengths, though, they will be able to nullify the threat of the hosts.
Pep Guardiola will set up his team in a way which allows them to be flexible in their positioning. They will start off in a 4-2-3-1 with Ederson in goal. There are going to be a couple of changes made to the defence.
Both Nathan Ake and Benjamin Mendy will drop to the bench. Kyle Walker will come in as the right back with Joao Cancelo moving to the left. Ruben Dias is the other player to come in, and he will partner John Stones.
In central midfield, we’ll see the usual combination of Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan. The latter, who is having a phenomenal season, in particular caused Dortmund a lot of problems last week and will be looking to do the same again here. These two will need to protect City on the counter.
Ahead of them, we will be seeing the trio of Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden. All of them are capable of creating chances.
Manchester City will have Gabriel Jesus leading the line for them. The Brazilian has been in good form lately and has been among the goals. If he is clinical when given a chance, City will comfortably move on to the semi-finals. Dortmund will put up a tough fight, but the visitors should be going through.
Predicted Manchester City Starting XI Against Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1):
Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus
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