Preview: How Man City can contain the press of BMG to progress in UCL

The last UEFA Champions League matchday of the round of 16 first leg games features a clash between Borussia Monchengladbach and Manchester City. Marco Rose, a head coach who has come through the Red Bull system is famous for his pressing schemes. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s team are masters of positional play concepts, and are arriving in Hungary (where the game is being played due to entry restrictions in Germany because of the COVID-19 pandemic) on the back of a very strong run.

What, therefore, can we expect from this match between two excellent teams?

In this tactical preview, a few specific tactics are investigated to predict how Pep could look to break the press and try to avoid unnecessary turnovers in dangerous areas. Monchengladbach have tried out a 3-4-1-2 formation in recent matches, but results have not gone their way, which is why we expect them to go for their usual formation  a back four.

Predicted lineups

Borussia Monchengladbach: Yann Sommer; Stefan Lainer, Matthias Ginter, Nico Elvedi, Remi Bensebaini; Christoph Kramer, Florian Neuhaus; Lars Stindl, Valentino Lazaro, Jonathan Hofmann; Alassane Pléa

If they go with a back five instead, then Denis Zakaria may start to add an extra man in midfield, with Lazaro moving to left wing-back and Bensebaini joining Ginter and Elvedi as the centre-backs.