Just two days ago, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola compared Erling Haaland to football legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Tonight, Haaland will face Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium. Can the German giants stop City’s Norwegian goal machine? Also in action tonight are Barcelona, one of the favourites to win the competition. The Catalan club will be playing an away match against Belgian side Club Brugge. However, Barcelona will be missing two young midfielders, Gavi and Pedri, due to injury, as well as Brazilian forward Raphinha. This means the onus will be on 16-year-old Lamine Yamal to step up.
Guardiola made the comparison between Haaland and the two icons after his striker scored a brace against Bournemouth last Sunday. Haaland has been in sensational form this season. In the Premier League, he has scored 13 goals in 10 matches, which is seven goals more than the second-highest scorer. In the Champions League, Haaland has netted 4 goals in three matches. This season, it seems the burden of scoring goals for Manchester City has entirely rested on Haaland’s shoulders, as he has scored 17 of City’s 31 goals. In the Champions League group stage, City have earned 7 points from three games, sitting in 7th place on the table, while Dortmund also have 7 points but are ahead on goal difference, placing them in 6th.
Dortmund’s form in the Bundesliga has been less impressive, dropping to 3rd after a defeat to Bayern Munich. However, in the Champions League, they have been firing on all cylinders. After drawing 4-4 with Juventus, Dortmund thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-1, and also won 4-2 against FC Copenhagen in Denmark. Key to their attacking success have been Felix Nmecha, Sheraldo Becker, and especially Jude Bellingham’s younger brother, Jube Bellingham.
In this crucial match, Manchester City will be without Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder Rodri, who is not yet fully fit, and star midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who has been out for a long time. On the other hand, Dortmund have some positive news, with two of their defensive stars, Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Süle, recovering from injury.
History, however, is on City’s side. In the last five meetings between the two sides, City have won three, Dortmund one, and one match ended in a draw. Moreover, City have won all of their last 11 encounters at the Etihad against Dortmund, who have never managed to secure a victory at the stadium.