It’s nearly time for Erling Haaland’s first test against his former team as Manchester City welcome Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. City swept aside Sevilla 4-0 to open Champions League play while Borussia Dortmund also won 4-0 over Copenhagen. This should be a tougher test for both teams but as Dortmund know too well, through Haaland all things are possible. The Norwegian marksman has scored 12 goals and assisted one more in eight appearances for City after exploding at Dortmund.
It didn’t take long for the team to begin looking for Haaland in the box as City are one of the best teams at creating chances in the world. With Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, Joao Cancelo, and Bernardo Silva in support of Haaland, he could top 40 goals in all competitions as City rake in the trophies. But Haaland isn’t the only former Dortmund player to likely be involved in the match. With Aymeric Laporte just returning to training, it’s likely that Manuel Akanji will start against his former club. Ilkay Gundogan rounds out City’s trio of former Dortmund players and will likely pace the midfield for Pep Guardiola.
Dortmund will come into the match with something to prove after struggling in a 3-0 loss to Red Bull Leipzig last weekend, but they can’t open up too much allowing City to cut them apart on the counter. It will be an important test for Edin Terzic as while his side don’t need to win the match, they do need to be competitive or morale could drop, seeing the Black and Yellow fall into Europa League when it is all said and done.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Sep. 14 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Etihad Stadium — Manchester
- TV: None | Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Manchester City -530; Draw +625; Dortmund +1300 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Manchester City: While Laporte is back in training, this match will likely come too soon for him, but he’ll be ready to go after the international beak. Kyle Walker could make the Dortmund match but Guardiola may not risk him, having another fullback option in Sergio Gomez. John Stones is back in contention but may need to settle for a place on the bench due to Akanji’s presence.
Dortmund: Thorgan Hazard will likely miss the match through injury, which could see American Gio Reyna start after coming off the bench during the loss to RB Leipzig. Jamie Byno-Gittens is nursing a shoulder injury while Gregor Kobel will also be unavailable. Dortmund’s injury list has grown by the day as they also have the long-term absentees of Mateu Morey Bauza, Sebastien Haller, and Mahmoud Dahoud to handle as well.
Prediction
Dortmund are a good team on their day but they can’t keep up with Manchester City’s pace in what will be quite an open match. Pick: Manchester City 4, Dortmund 2
