When Manchester City travels to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night, they will be looking to clinch the top spot in Group G of the Champions League.
If the Sky Blues win against Dortmund, who are second in the table with seven points after four games, they will be guaranteed to win their Champions League group.
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.
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.
Defense
Manuel Akanji has fit in perfectly with the Man City defense, and even though he didn’t appear at ease playing right-back on Saturday, Pep might keep him there so that he can get used to it. This is because City typically has bad luck with their defenders, and in the future, they might need to use him in that position for one of the more crucial games.
As a regular left-back, Joao Cancelo will be counted on to contribute with his imagination, directness, and ability to cross the ball.
Featuring in central defense 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 center-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
Given that he scored the game-winning goal in their most recent meeting, which took place last month, Erling Haaland is a lock to start for Man City against his former team. He will be eager to score and contribute significantly at Signal Iduna Park in the middle of the week.
Jack Grealish might start on the left flank for Man City despite not consistently performing well this season.
After making an impact as a substitute against Brighton last weekend, Phil Foden, an England international, will try to make a good impression from the right.
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