Manchester City have an upper hand as we look at the best predicted starting 11 and key details for their match vs Borussia Dortmund for UEFA Champions League 2022-23.
It is an encounter that is getting the spotlight due to Haaland’s reunion with his former club. But surely it has a lot more to offer. It’s a battle of two contrasting clubs. One with rich footballing history and discussion on German football is incomplete without the chapter on ‘Yellow Submarines’. In 1966, they became the first German club to win a European title and also have the Champions League under their belt which they won in 1996-97.
On the other hand, we have Manchester City who emerged as one of the best teams in the last decade or so. The only trophy missing in the decorated trophy cabinet of Citizens is the ‘Big Ears’. Their best performance so far is the final appearance in the 2020-21 campaign where they lost 1-0 to Chelsea.
Current Scenario:
Manchester City, playing at their home, certainly have the upper hand in this fixture. They have strengthened their line-up with some excellent signings this season. Manuel Akanji and Erling Haaland both have been signed this season by their opponents of this fixture. City are unbeaten in their last 20 UEFA CL home games, so it will be an uphill task for this Borussia Dortmund side that is looking for its first away win against an English side since 2013 when they won 2-1 against Arsenal.
Both teams are coming after a handsome win in their opening fixture of the tournament last week. Though Dortmund suffered a shock loss against RB Leipzig in Bundesliga on Saturday, It will be interesting to see how the standings fared after the completion of group stage matches as it looks like Dortmund and Sevilla both will compete for the second spot to reach the round of 16.
So, as we wait for the match to begin, let’s look at the history, squad, and predicted starting 11 for the Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund match of UEFA CL 2022-23.
Head-to-head:
They have played against each other only 4 times overall and all 4 encounters being in UEFA Champions League. Both were in the same group during the 2012-13 season, where Dortmund came better than City after drawing one and winning one. It was the same campaign where Dortmund reached the finals under the regime of current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
They came face to face one more time at the quarter-final stage in 2020-21, where City won both home and away encounters with the same scoreline of 2-1.
Games Played: 4 // Manchester City won: 2 // Borussia Dortmund won: 1 // Draw: 1
Match Details:
Competition: Champions League (Group Stage)
Match Type: Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
When: September 14, 7 pm GMT
Squad Details:
Manchester City Squad:
Goalkeepers: Stefan Ortega Moreno, Ederson, Scott Carson
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, Joshua Wilson-Esbrand
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez,
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Current Form (Recent first): W D W
Borussia Dortmund Squad:
Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel, Silas Ostrzinski, Alexander Meyer, Luca Unbehaun
Defenders: Nico Schlotterbeck, Raphael Guerreiro, Mats Hummels, Emre Can, Thomas Meunier, Niklas Sule, Tom Rothe, Soumaula Coulibaly, Antonius Papadopoulos, Lion Semic, Tom Rothe
Midfielders: Salih Özcan, Giovanni Reyna, Thorgan Hazard, Marco Reus, Marius Wolf, Julian Brandt, Felix Passlack, Abdoulaye Kamara, Göktan Gürpüz, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Jude Bellingham
Forwards: Anthony Modeste, Donyell Malen, Karim Adeyemi, Youssoufa Moukooko
Manager: Edin Terzić
Current Form (Recent first): L W W
Predicting Starting 11 for both Teams
CL 2022-23: Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Predicted Starting 11 for Manchester City
Manchester City are facing some injury issues in the defensive lineup. Laporte, Stones, and Walker all are nursing an injury. While Stones and Walker may not remain out of action for too long, but coming Wednesday is too early for a comeback. While Haaland’s reunion with his previous club is grabbing all the headlines, Manuel Akanji will also be playing against his former club in his only second outing for the new club.
City players got rare off this weekend, so fatigue won’t be an issue. We expect only one change in the starting 11 which thrashed Sevilla 0-4 on their home ground last Tuesday. Jack Grealish who made comeback against Sevilla last week looked a bit rusty and was substituted after an hour mark. Ilkay Gunogan may start the game in place of him. We may also see a few substitutes in later stages of the game in form of Mahrez, Grealish, Alvarez, and Kalvin Philips.
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defence: Sergio Gomez, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Joao Cancelo
Midfield: Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodrigo, Phil Foden
Attack: Erling Haaland
Formation: 4-3-2-1
CL 2022-23: Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Predicted Starting 11 for Borussia Dortmund
Just like their opponents, Dortmund are also facing some injury issues with their number 1 goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. He has already missed a couple of encounters; one each from the Champions League and Bundesliga due to torn muscle fiber. Alexander Meyer will start in front of the goalpost. Hummels, who was starting on the bench in the last couple of matches is also expected to start along with Meunier, Schlotterbeck, and Guerreiro.
Thorgan Hazard, who was substituted early in the previous CL game due to a thigh muscle pull, also missed the Bundesliga game this weekend. He may not be fit for the fixture. Giovanni Reyna will start in place of Hazard. Manager Edin Terzić might show his faith in Modeste as the sole striker to start with. He may be substituted by Youssoufa Moukooko later on.
Goalkeeper: Alexander Meyer
Defence: Nico Schlotterbeck, Raphael Guerreiro, Mats Hummels, Thomas Meunier
Midfield: Jude Bellingham, Salih Özcan, Julian Brandt, Marco Reus, Giovanni Reyna
Attack: Anthony Modeste
Formation: 4-2-3-1
CL 2022-23: Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Fantasy 11
Clearly, Manchester City are a better team among the two by some distance. Also, they are playing with fresh legs as they played their last competitive game more than one week ago. Our fantasy strategy is to have a maximum quota of 7 Manchester City players along with some goal-scoring options from Dortmund.
Manchester City have a better chance of getting a clean sheet, so we are choosing the goalkeeper and two defenders from City. Cancelo and Dias both apart from defensive duties are great attacking threats too. The remaining two defenders chosen by us are experienced Thomas Meunier and Guerreiro, who already opened his scoring account against FC Copenhagen last week.
Our midfield comprises of one of the best playmakers of the game Kevin De Bruyne, who can create goal-scoring situations out of nothing. His teammates Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan are given preference over Foden and Rodri based on current form.
Marco Rues is arguably the best player in the current Dortmund side, and is always a threat to the opposition. Julian Brandt is the fourth player selected from Dortmund based on his recent performances in the Bundesliga where he already scored once and provided a couple of assists.
Haaland selects himself as the sole striker of this fantasy team. He is currently in the form of his life and will look to score against his former club. With all said, let’s look at our chosen fantasy 11 for this match
Best Fantasy 11
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defenders: Joao Cancelo, Dias, Meunier, Guerreiro
Midfielders Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Marco Rues, Julian Brandt
Forwards: Erling Haaland
CVC Choice: Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne
Thanks for reading! Who do you think would win the match of Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund of CL 2022-23? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com
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Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since.
Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.
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