Manchester City hope to take another step towards automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16 when they host Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The Cityzens are unbeaten in the league phase to date, their draw away at Monaco sandwiched in between 2–0 victories over Napoli and Villarreal, and enter the upcoming fixture in terrific form. Defeat to Aston Villa is the only major blemish since the beginning of September, with the weekend’s win over Bournemouth meaning they have been victorious in nine of their last 12 games in all competitions.
Erling Haaland has been the catalyst for their terrific streak and the Norwegian will be aiming to pile misery on his former employers at the Etihad Stadium. The 25-year-old, who has only blanked in two games this season and scored twice at the weekend, will be crucial to victory against Dortmund.
BVB are in decent shape themselves, though. Niko Kovač’s men moved up to third in the Bundesliga at the weekend as they beat Augsburg and they have also accumulated seven points from their opening three Champions League games.
While they no longer boast someone with Haaland’s unrivalled output, Serhou Guirassy will be certain to cause chaos for City’s defence at the Etihad. He’s scored seven goals in 13 matches across all competitions this term and was joint top scorer in last season’s Champions League.
City have just one fitness issue ahead of Dortmund’s visit, with Mateo Kovačić back in the treatment room after sustaining an ankle injury. The ailment kept him out of the weekend win and Pep Guardiola has confirmed he will be missing for some time.
Rodri is available once again and featured in the win over Bournemouth, but the Spaniard is unlikely to start against Dortmund as Guardiola eases him back into action. Nico González should continue in his place.
There could be alterations from the team that beat the Cherries, with Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Aït-Nouri and John Stones potentially coming into the XI. Guardiola will have one eye on the upcoming clash with Liverpool before the November international break.
Dortmund will welcome Nico Schlotterbeck back into the team after the defender missed the weekend win against Augsburg through illness, while Niklas Süle should also be involved after sitting out the win with a toe injury.
Julien Duranville returned to first-team training on Tuesday afternoon and could be involved in some capacity against City. The youngster played his first minutes of the season for Borussia Dortmund II at the weekend.
Daniel Svensson, Julian Ryerson and Karim Adeyemi could return to the XI after only being used as substitutes last time out.
