A robot celebration for the fans, a comparison to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by Pep Guardiola and a fourth consecutive Premier League brace at the Etihad Stadium marked a successful outing for Erling Haaland.

The Premier League's leading scorer continued his brilliant run with a double against Bournemouth in a 3-1 win for Manchester City against Bournemouth on Sunday.

But, just a few days after Halloween, Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to avoid being haunted by their former striker when they face City in the Champions League.

Haaland spent two and a half seasons with Dortmund, scoring 86 goals and providing 19 assists in 89 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

The 25-year-old also led Dortmund to success in the 2021 DFB Pokal, which is still the club’s most recent piece of silverware.

However, Dortmund failed to keep Harry Kane quiet in their league encounter against Bayern Munich, and they will face a similar task against Haaland on Wednesday.

Haaland has scored 13 goals in 10 Premier League games this season, while Kane has found the back of the net 12 times in nine Bundesliga matches.

And their form has translated accordingly in the Champions League, with Kane leading the scoring chart in the competition with five goals (level with Kylian Mbappe), while Haaland is one behind on four.

The Norwegian forward is also looking to make some history against his former club.

Haaland could become the first player to score in five consecutive Champions League appearances for as many as three different teams, having previously done so for RB Salzburg (November 2019, five games) and Dortmund (March 2021, six games).

He also scored when City last hosted Dortmund in the competition in September 2022, securing a 2-1 win for his side with a stunning acrobatic finish in the 84th minute after John Stones cancelled out Jude Bellingham’s opener.

Can Haaland, who has 53 Champions League goals to his name already, help City overcome Dortmund again? We had a look at the Opta data to find out.

What's expected?

This will be the seventh time City and Dortmund have faced each other in the Champions League, with the Bundesliga outfit only managing one win in the previous six (D2 L3).

City have conceded the opening goal in four of their six Champions League games against Dortmund, but have only lost one of those four (W2 D1) and come back to win in each of the last two when going 1-0 down (2-1 in April 2021 and September 2022).

Similarly, Dortmund have netted the opening goal in two of their three away matches against City in the competition, but have been denied a victory on both occasions by goals conceded from the 80th minute onwards (drew 1-1 in October 2012 and lost 2-1 in September 2022).

The Opta supercomputer predicts another City victory on Wednesday, giving the hosts a 63.6% win probability.

Dortmund have been given a 17.8% chance of leaving Manchester with all three points, while the likelihood of a draw is 18.6%.

A familiar foe for Pep

The sight of Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden will be daunting for Dortmund fans, who will also be desperate to get the better of Guardiola.

He is unbeaten in his last 10 games against Dortmund across all competitions (W6 D4), with his most recent defeat against them coming in the 2014 Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup final.

All three of his defeats in 15 total matches against the German side (W8 D4) came between 2013 and 2014 during Jurgen Klopp’s reign.

It could be an emotional outing for Haaland, but it is also set to be a special night for Man City captain Bernardo Silva.

An appearance in this game will see him become the fourth Portuguese player to hit 100 games in the competition, after Cristiano Ronaldo (183), Pepe (120) and Luis Figo (103), all three of whom were on the winning side in their 100th games.

Silva will also be hoping to take a leaf out of Haaland’s book as he looks to score in consecutive Champions League appearances for the first time since April 2024, after bagging against Villarreal last time out.

City are unbeaten in their last 22 home matches played in the group/league phase of the Champions League (W19 D3), since a 2-1 defeat to Lyon in September 2018.

The only team to stop the Citizens scoring across these 22 games was Inter in September 2024 (0-0), who finished as runners-up in last season’s edition.

Goals galore for Dortmund

Niko Kovac’s side have enjoyed a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign, losing just one of their 14 games so far this season (2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the league).

They are third in the Bundesliga and sixth in the Champions League, with only Paris Saint-Germain (13) having outscored their 12 goals across the three matchdays so far.

Indeed, across the opening three matchdays this season, Dortmund have had the biggest positive differential against their expected goals (+7.5), as well as the highest shot conversion rate (37.5%) of any side.

Man City have kept a clean sheet in two of their three Champions League fixtures this season, but it would not be a surprise to see a goal fest at the Etihad this time around.

Dortmund have scored four goals in each of their last three Champions League matches (4-4 vs Juventus, 4-1 vs Athletic Club and 4-2 vs FC Copenhagen).

They could become the first team in European Cup/Champions League history to score four or more goals in four consecutive games.

And the bravery and attacking mentality instilled by both coaches is clear to see all over the pitch.

Across the first three matchdays of the 2025-26 Champions League campaign, the two defenders with the most line-breaking passes were City’s Josko Gvardiol (51) and Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini (47).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City - Rayan Cherki

After a stuttering start to the season, which included a thigh injury, Cherki seems to have found his feet in Guardiola's side.

The 22-year-old has made two starts since returning from injury, providing three assists across those matches, including two for Haaland in City's win over Bournemouth.

Cherki's header through for Haaland's first was delightfully clever, while the France international displayed his passing quality with a perfectly weighted ball for Haaland to double his tally against the Cherries.

Borussia Dortmund - Serhou Guirassy

After five games without a goal in all competitions, Guirassy was back on the scoresheet in Dortmund's 1-0 against Augsburg last Friday.

The Guinea international has scored five goals in eight Bundesliga games this season, while recording one goal and two assists in the Champions League.

While Guirassy is not quite at Haaland's level, BVB have nevertheless got one of Europe's leading marskmen leading their line.