Borussia Dortmund (A) - CL QF | Pre-Match Thread

Result Prediction


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You would think the side is fairly obvious based on who was left out on Saturday. Maybe 2 positions that are a question mark!

Seems to be a flip of a coin perhaps on Zinchenko or Cancelo (Cancelo when on his game we know what he offers, but last few games haven’t been the best) at left back. Walker being left out at the weekend surely he means he starts at right back?

wide men, Foden and Mahrez. KDB, Gundo and Rodri back in. Maybe a decision between Bernardo as a false 9 or Jesus, if even Jesus plays you would think he will play in that rotating 5 ahead of Rodri!

I think Cancelo plays better at right back than at the left. He has done well when Zinchenko on the other side ... just one of those partnerships on the pitch that develop between players. With Walker on the right, Cancelo on left isn't working as well as when is on the right in place of Walker.

I can understand the need for Walker there for this game or why he was there in the first leg but despite the little dip in Cancelo's form I expect him to keep his place. Pep likes players who show intelligence and understanding of the game when out there and he certainly has earned his trust in that department.
 
Yes so did i he was garbadge but we need to set up to get a result and i just think if we set up to counter with the pace of raz and jesus we could get a few.

Raz in the form he is in will run at them and be one on one and then just fluff it ... he needs to find some form quickly if he wants to come back into the bigger games at this business end. I think that whole rumours/reports of him asking Pep for more game time didn't go too well with Pep either. You could tell a lot by his (Raheem's) body language in that interview BT Sport aired pre-Leeds.
 
I think Cancelo plays better at right back than at the left. He has done well when Zinchenko on the other side ... just one of those partnerships on the pitch that develop between players. With Walker on the right, Cancelo on left isn't working as well as when is on the right in place of Walker.

I can understand the need for Walker there for this game or why he was there in the first leg but despite the little dip in Cancelo's form I expect him to keep his place. Pep likes players who show intelligence and understanding of the game when out there and he certainly has earned his trust in that department.
I think the balance is better with having Zinchenko at left back too! When Cancelo moves into midfield (if they decide to do that) Dias looks far more comfortable in the middle of then back “3” with stones to the right and Zinchenko to the left.
 
Anyone else worried he's going to go three at the back - Lyon style ... when they were playing that way to "prepare" against Bayern in the semi-final thinking ahead already ... I have a bad feeling he is going to do something like that ... and I am basing this on:

1- It's something he'd do thinking against Bayern or PSG (we'll know tomorrow but whichever of them is through) that we'd need to be more solid.

2- We are already 2-1 up so have that one goal lead - to encourage him to do this kind of risky thing.

3- He has the players for it, Dias, Stones, Laporte, Ake, Ferna, Garcia ... he can pick any of them in a three at the back system he devises.

4- He might do it to put Dortmund off guard, theirs is a young coach who might be thinking on how we played last leg and this will be something that could potentially completely throw them off.

5- It's Pep, he overthinks and I still can't get over the fact that in that first leg it was too unlike him to name a team ... that we all actually liked.

So don't be too surprised by a surprise team selection come day after tomorrow.
3 at the back wouldnt be a bad idea this time around as you've said we have the players to play the system, It could even be a hybrid 3 central defenders with Cancelo moving into midfield from rightback
 
Anyone else worried he's going to go three at the back - Lyon style ... when they were playing that way to "prepare" against Bayern in the semi-final thinking ahead already ... I have a bad feeling he is going to do something like that ... and I am basing this on:

1- It's something he'd do thinking against Bayern or PSG (we'll know tomorrow but whichever of them is through) that we'd need to be more solid.

2- We are already 2-1 up so have that one goal lead - to encourage him to do this kind of risky thing.

3- He has the players for it, Dias, Stones, Laporte, Ake, Ferna, Garcia ... he can pick any of them in a three at the back system he devises.

4- He might do it to put Dortmund off guard, theirs is a young coach who might be thinking on how we played last leg and this will be something that could potentially completely throw them off.

5- It's Pep, he overthinks and I still can't get over the fact that in that first leg it was too unlike him to name a team ... that we all actually liked.

So don't be too surprised by a surprise team selection come day after tomorrow.

He didn't play 3 at the back last year because of Bayern.

He played it because out of about 10 games vs teams playing 352 (like Lyon) last season, the only games we won were games where we matched the formation - Sheffield United and IIRC Everton.

Every other time we played 3 at the back we got fucked. Wolves, United, Arsenal in the FA Cup etc.

So he was simply doing what had worked in the recent past, but people are so desperate to force this narrative of Pep overthinking that they chose to ignore the very obvious pragmatic reason and invent a bullshit reason.
 
I wud go 3cbs id also play fern and rodri
..................ederson....................
....stones ..diaz ...laporte....
..walker.............................cancello
................fern....rodri...........
....................kdb ...............

...........sterling ....jesus.........













.
If we do play 3 at the back, Walker isn't attack minded enough so we'd have very little attack down the right.
 
If we do play 3 at the back, Walker isn't attack minded enough so we'd have very little attack down the right.
Maybe put walker right centre back
And cancello right back and zin left back
Who knows what pep will try.

...........eddy.........
Walker..diaz....laporte..

Cancello..rodri..fern...zin....
..............kdb...................
Raz.........................jesus.....

Something like this maybe.
 
Looked forward to most games this season and have been supremely confident but this game is different , i think this will be our most difficult game of the season so far , Dortmund are likely to miss out on Champs league in the Bundesliga so this is their last throw of the dice , expect a really tough game
Throw into the mix Pep's appalling record at this stage of the competition and some of the ridiculous VAR and ref decisions we have suffered into doesnt bode well , we are certainly due a change in luck and Bellingham's disallowed goal in the first leg was a good start.
Just hope Pep let's our players express themselves and play OUR game , man for man we are superior so let the German's worry about us and go for their throats , would rather go out fighting than changing our game to suit the opposition.
 
Where did I say I know better than him or I that I can manage better than Pep?

I am merely pointing out what I am worried about as a fan ... and I listed my reasons why I think there is a possibility we could see something different come Wednesday.

The fact that majority liked the line-up and formation he picked in the first leg against Dortmund was a shock in itself ... and that is based on what he has done in the past ... Monaco, first leg (defensive subs when they were well tired and there for the taking, we stopped), then second leg - too gung ho ... Liverpool, first leg, Gundo as an extra defensive midfielder thrown in at the expense of an attacking player (and that Gundo was nothing like the Gundo of now) ... Spurs then, first leg, rotated and rested went too conservative ... Lyon ... where do I even start, and that is still fresh in memories so don't need to remind people ...

No questions that Pep is the best manager in the world, best now and best ever ... yes even better than Fergie ... but he does such eccentric things sometimes and almost always in the CL knock-out stage that this time him not doing it (in the first leg) was a surprise ... so I am just raising a point if anyone else is worried too and waiting to see if he does it in the second leg instead ...

Yeah. It is nerve wracking. Never know what he’s going to do! Let’s hope it works on Weds.

To be honest, I don’t really care. I was more gutted to lose to Leeds because it’s the PL I want. The CL is corrupt & is over a few fixed matches - but I guess that until we win it, journalists will continue to beat us with the “not won the CL” stick
 
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