Champions League: Why Dortmund Will Beat Man City Today

Kovač’s men are flying, and a lot of the credit must go to their coach. They have lost just one of their last 17 Bundesliga games, already racking up four points more than they had at the same stage last season.

Friday’s 1-0 win at Augsburg, with Serhou Guirassy back on the scoresheet, made it 10 wins in 14 competitive fixtures this term, with their sole loss coming away at Bayern Munich.

“Niko arrived at Borussia Dortmund at a very difficult time,” said the club’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl, referring to Kovač’s appointment in January 2025 with the club in 11th place before he guided them to a fourth-placed finish. “From the start, he gave off an air of calm and experience, and followed clear principles. He quickly got us back on track.”

It has worked in the Champions League too – a competition Dortmund would not have been in but for the Kovač-inspired revival last term – as wins over Athletic Bilbao and Copenhagen followed the gripping 4-4 draw with Juventus. It has left Dortmund level on points with City but a place ahead of their English opponents in sixth coming into the game.

“What Kovač is getting out of BVB is phenomenal,” said Champions League-winning former Liverpool, Newcastle United, City and Bayern midfielder Dietmar Hamann.