Unbeaten Sides Clash as Haaland Hopes to Haunt Dortmund | OneFootball

Erling Haaland will be hoping to haunt his former club Borussia Dortmund once again when they visit the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is looking to continue their undefeated start to the Champions League campaign.

After the first three group stage matches, Dortmund and City find themselves in sixth and seventh respectively in the Champions League standings. They are separated by a single goal. Having won twice and drawn once, each team is unbeaten and there will be opportunity for both to lay down a marker. Their Champions League pedigree is well established, with both featuring in the final of Europe’s premier club competition within the last three years.

Dortmund on a Rampage

Dortmund have been on a rampage in the Champions League so far, scoring four goals in each of their three fixtures. Those 12 goals are double City’s tally and only bested by the reigning champions PSG, who have scored 13. However, it will take an extraordinary performance for the Germans to keep their scoring streak going against Guardiola’s side, who have seemingly ironed out the defensive vulnerabilities which plagued them last season. The Blues have kept two clean sheets in their opening three European games, and will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing Dortmund’s defense which has already leaked seven goals.

Haaland to Haunt Former Club?

Erling Haaland’s incredible goalscoring form continued over the weekend with a brace against Brentford. He has 17 goals in 13 matches across all competitions since mid-August. Next up is a reunion with his former club. 

The Norwegian scored 86 goals in 89 appearances for Dortmund, who he described as “an amazing club” in the lead up to the game.

It was his acrobatic volley that proved decisive the last time the two sides met at the Etihad, a 2 – 1 victory back in September 2022. Few would bet against him being the difference maker again. Many would disagree with Haaland’s own assessment that he is “far off” the levels of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bellingham Back on Home Soil

In recent meetings between the two sides, Guardiola’s side struggled to contain Jude Bellingham – the scorer of Dortmund’s two most-recent goals against City. Tomorrow they could face a different Bellingham brother, Jobe, for the first time. 

Big things were expected when the 20-year-old followed in his older brother’s footsteps this summer, however he has not hit the ground running in Germany. Bellingham has made just two starts in the Bundesliga, although his form has started to improve in recent weeks. 

He notched two assists in Dortmund’s last Champions League fixture and could be in the starting lineup, as he returns to England with his new club for the first time since his transfer.

Top Eight Finish Vital

The redesigned Champions League is now into its second season, and both sides will be keenly aware of the importance of a top eight finish. 

The top eight sides of the league phase qualify directly into the last 16, bypassing an extra knockout tie. Dortmund narrowly missed out on the top eight last season, falling short by just a single point. 

Although the Germans were able to advance to the quarter-finals, they went on to suffer a number of key injuries which contributed to their eventual elimination. 

City too were forced to play the extra tie, where they faced Real Madrid, with the 15-time champions unceremoniously dumping the Blues out of the competition. With ever-increasing fixture congestion, a top eight finish holds the utmost importance for managers.