Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City entertain Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The first leg, at the Etihad, will see the Premier League leaders, who are 14 points clear at the top of the table, host the Bundesliga giants, led by Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian phenom has been linked with a move to City this summer, though Guardiola has attempted to dampen talk of a move out of respect for his players. Though tonight offers a chance at redemption, or at least a slice of it, with City still haunted by last season’s quarter-final upset at the hands of Lyon. They enter the game in fine form, with a comfortable 2-0 win at Leicester last time out, with goals from Benjamin Mendy and Gabirel Jesus at the King Power Stadium making it five straight wins in all competitions and four successive clean sheets.
Guardiola remains conscious of the need to rotate his squad to ensure they peak in the closing stages of this tournament, one they covet beyond all others, despite the potential for a quadruple: “I rotate because it is not possible to play every day,” Guardiola told the club website after Saturday’s 2-0 win at Leicester City. “They are human beings, not machines.
“To win all competitions in this year without spectators, when we start later and finish earlier, you cannot be there where we are if you don’t rotate. We don’t have even one midweek off. No player can do that and be ready mentally every game. So, I rotate them. I trust my players so much. They don’t trust me but I trust them with their quality.”
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Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
08’: SAVE! Nice play from Bellingham who stands up Kyle Walker in the box and hits a left-footed shot at goal. Ederson makes the save before Emre Can’s deflected shot from outside of the box goes out for a corner, which City clear. Dortmund got forward really quickly there.
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 20:09
Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
07’: First bit of magic from De Bruyne who plays a nice one-two with Mahrez on the City right. It takes some smart covering from Bellingham to get back and cut out the cross
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 20:08
Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
04’: City get their first spell of possession, with Dortmund looking happy to sit in and wait for breaks through Haaland. It looks to be a very fluid system for the hosts with Bernardo, De Bruyne and Gundogan rotating positions.
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 20:06
Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
01’: Bernardo Silva looks to be the City player operating in the false nine role early on, with De Bruyne not far away.
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 20:02
KICK-OFF! Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 20:01
TEAMS ARE OUT
Kevin De Bruyne captains City this evening and leads his team out of the tunnel at the Etihad. Erling Haaland, meanwhile, is mouthing the words of the Champions League anthem. Kick-off is moments away.
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 19:59
DORTMUND DEBUT
How’s this for a debut? Ansgar Knauff has been handed his first senior start for Borussia Dortmund this evening. The 19-year-old winger has made just two appearances off the bench in the Bundesliga this season, and spent the first half of the campaign with Dortmund second team.
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 19:56
“WE’LL PLAY OUR GAME”
Pep Guardiola has been speaking to BT Sport and was asked about City’s past quarter-final defeats. “[We prepare] the same. They [the players] know [what they have to do]. We want to have the ball and try to attack, arrive in the box. We’ll play our game, let’s do what we’ve done this year.” Asked if City had any special plans on dealing with Haaland, Guardiola said. “No, the same.”
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 19:52
SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE
Manchester City haven’t conceded in the Champions League in sevens games, while Haaland has scored in each of his last six appearances in the competition. The Norwegian is the top scorer in this season’s Champions League with 10 goals in eight games so far.
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 19:36
LAST MEETING
The last time these two sides met was in the 2011/12 Champions League group stages, when a very different Manchester City crashed out with just three points from six games following a 1-0 defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s Bundesliga champions in Germany. Jude Bellingham was just nine years old at the time…
Jamie Braidwood6 April 2021 19:23
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