Borussia Dortmund vs Manchester City
Manchester City’s spot in the Champions League semi-finals is anything but secure. The Citizens only have a narrow 2-1 lead to take to their second leg against Borussia Dortmund in Germany after their late first-leg win at home.
And they followed up that unconvincing performance with a shock home defeat to Leeds United in the Premier League over the weekend.
The door remains very much open for Borussia Dortmund to deliver a major shock and knock the tournament favourites out of the competition. Can Erling Haaland and co. hand City more European heartbreak?
Talking Points
Dortmund need Haaland to end drought
The Champions League 2021 betting odds did not give Borussia Dortmund much of a chance in the first leg in Manchester, but they acquitted themselves quite well. They defended capably, limiting City to just 11 total shots.
They might have even avoided a defeat if Jude Bellingham’s goal weren’t incorrectly disallowed. Bellingham continued his fine form of late by starring in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win over Stuttgart over the weekend. The 17-year-old Englishman scored the team’s equaliser and had a team-high five shots overall.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland had another relatively quiet night with just one shot and no goal. The 20-year-old is on one of the longest goal droughts of his young career, failing to score in his last six games for club and country. Although, he has still provided an assist in each of his last two games.
With Jadon Sancho back in training but still a doubt to play in the second leg, Haaland will need to step up and provide a bigger threat at home.
Marco Reus has certainly stepped up in Sancho’s absence. The Dortmund skipper has supplied two goals and two assists in the six games since Sancho went down.
Meanwhile, teenager Ansgar Knauff – who was handed a surprise start by Edin Terzic against City – came off the bench to score the winner against Stuttgart. Although, it remains to be seen if that will be enough to earn him another start of if Gio Reyna or Thorgan Hazard will step in for the second leg.
City struggling in front of goal
After a remarkable run of results over the past few months, Manchester City are finally showing some concerning signs in their last couple of performances.
First, they struggled to break down Dortmund in the first leg and then fell 2-1 to a Leeds side that was down to 10 men for the entire second half. City dominated with a 29-2 shot advantage but could not take their chances.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola instructs his players during Champions League quarter-finals first leg tie against Borussia Dortmund
Granted, Pep Guardiola rotated his squad heavily ahead of the second leg in Dortmund. Kevin de Bruyne was an unused substitute while Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan only came on as second-half substitutes.
However, it was concerning that Raheem Sterling continues to look well out of form. The England international, who has been out of favour in recent weeks, got the start but failed to impress as he remains without a league goal since February.
Sterling did not start in the first leg against Dortmund, and after his disappointing showing against Leeds, it’s a doubt that he will do so in the second.
Meanwhile, Guardiola is expected to restore his first-choice backline after resting Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias. City’s defence has not looked quite as secure at home in recent weeks, but they remain impressive away from home. They have kept five consecutive clean sheets in all competitions outside the Etihad.
History
With City’s win over Dortmund, the head-to-head record between the two clubs is now even at one win apiece, with one draw.
A City victory would see them make the Champions League semi-finals for just the second time in their history. They first made it during the 2015-16 season under Manuel Pellegrini.
As for Dortmund, they will be looking to make their first Champions League semi-final berth since reaching the finals back in 2012-13 under Jurgen Klopp.
Betting Tip
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Borussia Dortmund vs Manchester City | Under 3.00 @ 2.01 |
| April 15, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
The SBOTOP odds on offer have Manchester City installed as significant 1.70 favourites to get the win in Dortmund. BVB are priced at 4.30 to win at home, while a draw is 4.00.
As underwhelming as City’s recent performances have been, it is still hard not to see them going through one way or another, whether it’s through a draw or an outright win.
Either way, though, I don’t anticipate this second leg being a high-scoring affair given City’s strong defence. I see this match having under three goals, with City doing enough to make it back to the semi-finals.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post Champions League: Dortmund Out to Shock Slumping City appeared first on SBOTOP.