Manchester City will be aiming to seal the top spot in Group G of the Champions League when they travel to Germany to cross swords with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening.
The Sky Blues will be assured of finishing top of their Champions League group should they avoid defeat against Dortmund, who are second in the table with seven points from four games.
Pep Guardiola’s side followed their opening Champions League fixture success over Sevilla with an exciting 2-1 success over Tuesday’s German counterparts in September at the Etihad Stadium. They head to Signal Iduna Park off the back of a 3-1 win over Brighton in the Premier League.
Manchester City Team News
Manchester City will be without the services of Sergio Gomez due to suspension after the Spanish left-back was sent off against FC Copenhagen in his side’s last Champions League match.
Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips remain sidelined through injury and face a race against time to be fit for the World Cup next month in Qatar, but John Stones returned to the City matchday squad at the weekend against Brighton and will hope to be involved in Germany.
Predicted Man City Lineup vs Borussia Dortmund (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Ederson is Man City’s undisputed first-choice in goal, and he should start again. He will be hoping to keep a clean sheet after missing out on one at the weekend.
Defence
Manuel Akanji has seamlessly slotted in the Man City backline and even though he did not look comfortable at right-back on Saturday, Pep might retain him in that position for the player to attain a level of familiarity given the poor luck City generally have with defenders and the prospect of needing to play him in one of the more important fixtures in that position down the line.
Joao Cancelo is a permanent fixture at left-back, and the Portuguese will be expected to make a difference with his creativity, directness and crossing ability.
Featuring in central defence in the Man City lineup, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake must produce quality performances to keep an exciting Dortmund attack at bay.
Aymeric Laporte and John Stones will be expecting some action with the Spanish centre-back more likely to push for a start.
Midfield
Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne would make up the midfield in the Man City lineup. Rodri and De Bruyne will expect starts as Pep aims to wrap up qualification as quickly as possible, but Gundogan’s fresh legs could be preferred to Bernardo Silva in the engine room.
Guardiola will expect the aforementioned trio to dominate possession and supply City’s forwards with good service in the box.
Attack
Erling Haaland is a shoo-in to start in the Man City lineup against his former side, having scored the winner last time out when the two sides met last month. He will be hungry to get on the scoresheet and make a real difference at Signal Iduna Park in midweek.
Despite failing to consistently deliver the goods this season, Jack Grealish could get the nod on the left flank in the Man City lineup.
Phil Foden will try to give a good account of himself from the right after the England international made an impact off the bench against Brighton at the weekend.
