City make seven changes from the side that lost to Leeds United at the weekend.

Only Ederson, Oleksandr Zinchenko, John Stones and Bernardo keep their places for the second leg with Borussia Dortmund.

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Returning are Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Rodrigo, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez.

Teams

City XI: Ederson, Walker, Zinchenko, Dias, Stones, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Foden, Bernardo, Mahrez

Subs: Steffen, Trafford, Ake, Sterling, Jesus, Laporte, Torres, Mendy, Fernandinho, Cancelo, Garcia

Dortmund XI:

Probable formation and tactics

It seems 4-3-3 is most likely with now familiar false 9 employed.

De Bruyne, Foden, Gundogan and Bernardo have all played in that role at some point this season, so it remains to be seen who gets the nod this evening.

The back four is more straightforward, with Zinchenko and Walker edging out Joao Cancelo and Dias and John Stones starting ahead of Aymeric Laporte who has recovered from a minor injury.

Expect a similar approach from the first leg, with plenty of City possession and, hopefully, plenty of opportunities.

City’s 11 days of destiny?

City know the quarter-finals well and have painful memories against Lyon, Liverpool, and Spurs in recent years.

But in all our quarter-final clashes, we have never taken a lead into the second leg.

Against Liverpool, City trailed 3-0 and Spurs 1-0 going into the return game at the Etihad and last year’s one-off against Lyon saw a 3-1 loss on neutral ground.

The only successful first leg was a 2-2 draw with Paris St Germain, who ironically await the winners of this tie.

A one-goal lead may be a slender advantage, but it means Dortmund have to score and the longer our defence can keep the Germans at bay, the more the pressure will grow.

But it would be a huge risk to go into the final 15 minutes with the scores at 0-0, knowing a 1-0 win for Dortmund would be enough to see them through on the away goals rule.

That’s why Pep Guardiola will send his team out to win and find a goal that will mean Dortmund need two just to force extra time.

There are many scenarios this evening but keeping Erling Braut Haaland – who hasn’t scored for six games now – as quiet as possible and nicking at least one away goal could see City through.

With the FA Cup semi-final to come on Saturday, a tough Premier League trip to face Aston Villa in a week’s time and the Carabao Cup final a week on Sunday, it is crunch time in our quest to win as many trophies as possible.

 Stats and facts:

  • On the seven previous occasions Borussia Dortmund have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout stage match, they’ve been eliminated six times. The exception was against Benfica in 2016-17 at the Last 16 stage (0-1 first leg, 4-0 second leg).
  • In major European competition, City have progressed from 13 of their 15 knockout stage ties when winning the first leg, falling against Juventus in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup and against Monaco in the 2016-17 Champions League.
  • In Champions League history, the side winning the first leg of a knockout stage tie 2-1 at home has been eliminated (15) more often than they’ve progressed (12).
  • Borussia Dortmund’s only previous home meeting with Manchester City ended in a 1-0 victory for the German side, in the Champions League group stages in December 2012.
  • Borussia Dortmund have lost their last two home games against English sides in the Champions League (vs Spurs in both 2017-18 and 2018-19), having lost just one of their first seven such matches (W4 D2).
  • City haven’t conceded in any of their last four Champions League away games - the last team to keep a clean sheet in five straight away games in the competition was Manchester United (6 in 2010-11).
  • After losing three of his first five meetings with Borussia Dortmund in all competitions,  City boss Pep Guardiola is unbeaten in his last seven against the German side (W4 D3).
  • Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has only failed to score in three of his 15 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and has found the net in all four of his appearances at Signal Iduna Park (7 goals in total).
  • Kevin De Bruyne has been involved in 13 goals in his last 12 appearances in the Champions League (4 goals, 9 assists), with the Belgian having a hand in six goals in just four games this season (2 goals, 4 assists).