Dortmund v Man City- Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Dortmund host Man City at Signal-Iduna-Park on Tuesday night as the race for the top spot in Group G of the UEFA Champions League continues. City won the reverse fixture last month after two wonder goals in the final ten minutes. BVB have been inconsistent of late with just three wins in their last nine in the league and Champions League. City have won just once in their last three fixtures but their performance level have been good.

Dortmund Form

Dortmund lost 3-0 at RB Leipzig prior to the reverse fixture against City, where they led 1-0 after 79 minutes before conceding twice in five minutes to lose 2-1. They have since lost 3-2 at FC Cologne in the league, drawn 2-2 with Bayern Munich, and have lost 2-0 at table-topping Union Berlin.

In Europe, they beat Copenhagen 3-0 in their opening fixture before the City loss. A superb 4-1 thrashing of Sevilla on the road followed but they could only draw 1-1 with Sevillistas Rojiblancos in the return match. Their last three matches saw the Union Berlin loss, a 2-0 win at Bundesliga 2 opponents Hannover 96 in a cup match, and then a 5-0 home win against Stuttgart over the weekend. Jude Bellingham scored a brace as his superb form continued.

Dortmund Team News

Midfielder Salih Ozcan is suspended for this match after an accumulation of cautions in the competition so far. Thomas Meunier is injured at right back and Marco Reus is doubtful after an injury in the cup win against Hannover 96.

Winger Donyell Malen is hoping to be fit to make the bench after a knock. Up front, 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko is set to start after netting against Bayern Munich and Stuttgart in recent weeks.

Dortmund Motivation

BVB will play to win this match to give them hope of finishing top of the group. The side needs a point to effectively qualify and may be happy to take a draw if they fall behind in this match.

It isn’t expected to be an open approach that they take considering how effective a more reserved strategy was in the first meeting against City.

Man City Form

City have lost once all season in 16 matches in all competitions but they have won just once in their last three fixtures. With four games played in the Champions League, they’ve already qualified but still have to secure top spot ahead of Dortmund. After a superb 6-3 Manchester derby victory against Man Utd, they beat FC Copenhagen 5-0 at home.

A 4-0 home win against Southampton followed in the Premier League before surprisingly only drawing 0-0 in Denmark against Copenhagen with Erling Haaland rested and playing with ten men for an hour after Sergio Gomez was sent off. A slightly surprising 1-0 loss at Liverpool followed after allowing one too many clear openings on the break. In their last match, they overcame Brighton 3-1 at the Etihad as Haaland plundered two more goals.

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola is without right-back Kyle Walker and defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips for this match due to injuries. Sergio Gomez is missing at left-back due to suspension so Nathan Ake is an option to cover in that role. Otherwise, Manuel Akanji could play at right back as against Brighton or John Stones could play there.

Phil Foden is set for a recall in the front three so either Jack Grealish or Riyad Mahrez will drop out. Ilkay Gundogan will hope to face his former club, meaning Bernardo Silva could move into a wider role with both Grealish and Mahrez left on the bench possibly.

Man City Motivation

A draw would secure the top spot for Man City and mean their matchday six fixture has nothing riding on it. Guardiola will be determined to get at least a point from this match.

City won’t play for a draw but could look to keep some sterile possession at times to take the sting out of Dortmund.

Key Stats

Dortmund have lost 4 of their last 9 matches (CL and Bundesliga)

BVB have won just 3 of their last 8 home CL matches

City have won their last 6 CL matches against German opposition

City have kept 7 clean sheets in their last 10 CL matches

Man City have scored 2+ goals in their last 3 matches against Dortmund 

Verdict

This should be a good game but both sides would be pretty happy with a draw. City have a great record against German teams and BVB in particular and are favoured to nick the win with Haaland a good tip to score against his former club.

Best Bet: Man City win at 1.58
Alternative Bet: Man City win and over 2.5 goals at 2.15
Alternative Bet: Man City win and Haaland to score anytime at 2.22

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis