MY ACCOUNT
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland faces an early reunion with former club Borussia Dortmund when the two sides meet at the Etihad in the Champions League.
Both teams won their opening games in the competition last week, so they will aim to make it two wins from two to go top of Group G, which also contains Sevilla and FC Copenhagen.
Haaland has made a stunning start to life at City following his summer move from BVB, netting 12 goals in just eight appearances in all competitions.
Now he is aiming to hurt his old club, who he scored 86 goals for in a prolific two-and-a-half-year spell.
Team news
Kyle Walker has not trained in the build-up to the clash, so he will not play, but John Stones, who, like Walker, also missed the win over Sevilla last time out, is back available.
Fellow centre-back Aymeric Laporte has returned to training, but this game will come too soon for him, with ex-Dortmund defenders Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez both hoping to feature.
Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez are among those pushing for starts with Jack Grealish’s place in the line-up again under threat.
Sebastien Haller remains unavailable for the visitors, while Mateu Morey, Gregor Kobel, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Mahmoud Dahoud are all out injured.
Karim Adeyemi, Donyell Malen and Thorgan Hazard are all major doubts for the fixture with various injuries, so Giovanni Reyna is on standby to start.
The stats
City and Dortmund have faced each other four times previously in the Champions League, with one win for Dortmund, two for City and one draw.
In the 2012-13 group stage, they drew 1-1 at the Etihad before Dortmund won 1-0 at home, while City won 2-1 in both legs of their quarter-final meeting in 2021.
Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in their last 12 home Champions League games, winning 11 of them.
Dortmund are fifth in the Bundesliga, having won four and lost two of their first six games.
Prediction
If there is a winner on Wednesday night, they will take control of the group, and it is likely it will be City, who have won their three home league games so far this season by an aggregate score of 14-2.
Haaland has hit the ground running, taking the Premier League by storm in the first six weeks. The Norway international has been the first goalscorer in four of City’s games so far, including all of the last three.
Therefore it seems wise to suggest the prolific frontman will again be the first name on the scoresheet against his former employers in what should overall be another comfortable City success at the Etihad.
