The Uefa Champions League quarter-finals kick off on Tuesday night, as Manchester City host Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium.
It’s another hurdle in the quest for European glory for the English Premier League leaders under the charge of Pep Guardiola.
Dortmund, meanwhile, are pushing for a first title since 1997, having also gegenpress-ed their way to the 2013 final with Jurgen Klopp at the helm, before losing out to German rivals Bayern Munich.
City breezed through the last 16, also against Bundesliga opposition in the form of Borussia Monchengladbach.
A pair of 2-0 victories on neutral ground at the Puskas Arena in Budapest did the job, with both ties shifted due to Covid-19 restrictions.
It was a far tougher task for Edin Terzic and his side, who squeezed past the challenge of serial Europa League winners Sevilla.
A 3-2 first leg success gave them the edge in the tie, leaving enough breathing space for a 2-2 Signal Iduna Park draw to secure safe passage to the last eight.
Guardiola has the luxury of a fully fit squad to choose from, with plenty of bodies rested during last weekend’s EPL action.
Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden are candidates to come in at the sharp end of the pitch, with Ilkay Gundogan primed to bolster the midfield.
There will be no reunion for Jadon Sancho with his former club, as the one-that-got-away sits out the clash through injury.
Good job they have wunderkind Erling Haaland at their disposal then, with the striker heading for a megabucks summer transfer, maybe even to City.
Axel Witsel, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Marcel Schmelzer are also ruled out, while Youssoufa Moukoko will need to be assessed in the build up to the first leg.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund: Prediction
Prediction methodology explained:?The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund: UCL starting XI prediction
Probable Manchester City Starting XI: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kevin de Bruyne, Rodrigo, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden.
Probable Borussia Dortmund Starting XI: Marwin Hitz, Emre Can, Manuel Akanji, Mats Hummels, Raphael Guerreiro, Thomas Delaney, Thorgan Hazard, Jude Bellingham, Mahmoud Dahoud, Marco Reus, Erling Haaland.
Find all Uefa Champions League predictions, fixtures and results for 6 and 7 April 2021 here.