Football coach Pep Guardiola expects a duel at eye level despite Manchester City being favorites in the Champions League game at Borussia Dortmund.
“We have a lot of respect for them and have to do our best to beat them. They are very good,” said the 51-year-old before the fifth preliminary round game (9 p.m. / Amazon Prime Video) in Dortmund.
The team of the former Bayern coach leads the table with ten points and could already complete the group win with a draw. In the first leg in mid-September, the English had won 2-1 late.
Jude Bellingham, in particular, commands respect from Guardiola: “Borussia is a perfect place for young players. He’s now one of the team’s captains. At 19, that’s very impressive.” He spoke with similar respect to former Dortmund player İlkay Gündoğan, who has been his team’s captain since the start of the season: “He’s an incredible player. He’s so intelligent. You can talk to him about the whole world. It’s a pleasure to work with him .”
City defender Rúben Dias is looking forward to the atmosphere in the stadium, which was sold out with 81,365 spectators: “Such an atmosphere makes every player better. I hope we can win and put on a good show.”