dekabreak said:
Dortmund won't be fit the whole season.
Their defense is a mess. Teams are already figuring out Klopp's tactics and Westfalenstadion isn't a fortress anymore.
There's no way to be so sure at the moment. If their key players are fit, they are as good as anyone.
Their system has been difficult to execute because of the squad turbulence, especially with their best midfielder missing. They'd hope to have their key players back in a month, I'd assume.
Out of interest, what do you think of your own defence if you think Dortmund's defence is a mess? If you were to compare defensive records in similar competition (league, major cup, europe) you'd see that Dortmund have conceded less goals,
in spite of playing in a much tougher Champions League group,
AND suffering major injuries to each member of their defence.
Dortmund - 28 matches, 29 goals conceded
Man City - 32 matches, 39 goals conceded
Even if you add in all competitions, City still have a worse defensive record, so it's clearly not due to me trying to manipulate statistics or something absurd like that.
League competition and European competition, especially high-pressure knock-out ties are two completely different beasts. Dortmund, having lost some of their "magic", are certainly favourites to go deep in the competition. They have a very easy tie against Zenit.