Manchester City have not reached the semi-finals of the Champions League under Pep Guardiola, going out in the last eight for the last three seasons. Despite that, though, City's boss says he will be viewed as a failure as if he does not win the Champions League during his time at the club.

"I know if we don't win I'll be a failure and if we do it's 'how good is Pep'," said Guardiola. Here's the best of what else he had to say ahead of Wednesday's showdown in Germany.

 

  • Dortmund's away goal

After City won 2-1 in the first leg, Marco Reus' late goal at the Etihad Stadium means that Borussia Dortmund would go through to the semi finals with a 1-0 victory. Guardiola, though, doesn't see their away goal as a deciding factor.

"If you think of the consequences or goals you have to score or concede, you forget what you have to do," said the Spaniard. "It doesn't matter what happens in the first leg, you have a chance in the second.

"It will be better they don't score and we win, but in the Champions League you always have a chance. We have weapons to score, they have weapons to score.

"Our idea is to go there do as best as possible and let them feel we are not going to defend what we got here. We want to impose our game to win the game."

 

  • Who makes the starting XI?

Guardiola is renowned for changing his team, often regardless of winning or losing, and is perhaps expected to do the same on Wednesday after Saturday's 2-1 loss to 10-man Leeds United.

City's boss made seven changes to his side for the weekend's visit of Leeds, including resting in-form players such as Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan.

"I made changes, but maybe I will play the same team in Dortmund," stated Guardiola.

"I've said many times they play because I want to let them play, not because I reserve these players. I select every team to win a specific game. If not, it would not be possible to arrive in the position that we we are in the Premier League and the other competitions.

"I decided on the selection and, with 29 games and 27 won, the rotation was exceptional, wasn't it?"

 

  • Dealing with Dortmund and taking their own chances

Dortmund felt hard done by when Jude Bellingham's goal was controversially ruled out in the first leg, but created very little else apart from Reus' goal. Guardiola says that their opponents will inevitably have opportunities to score, but wants his side to be ready when they make their own.

“I am pretty sure they [Dortmund] will have chances because in the last 26 or 27 games they have scored,” he added.

“What we have to do is score goals and to do that we have to be effective up front and win the game.

“You have to try and execute our plan. It doesn’t matter what happens in the first leg, you have a chance in the second.

 

  • How City will approach the game and deal with emotions

Often pragmatic in press conferences, Guardiola was asked how he will set his side up to face Dortmund, physically and mentally. Unsurprisingly, he was routinely cautious in his answer.

“Our idea is to go there, do as best as possible and let them feel we are not going to defend what we got here. We want to impose our game to win the game.”

“If we want to win, we have to deserve it, we have to go for it. That is going to happen, the way we have done many times this season. Of course we have to control emotions, but sometimes you need emotions in the good way to win these games.

“We are not going to do anything special, just go there to win the game and each one will need to be a leader on the pitch.The guy who feels comfortable during the game take more responsibility to be more involved in the game.

“For the guys who are more nervous or quieter, do your job, play simple and maybe five minutes later you are ready to make a good performance. We need 11 player and the substitutes. 

They are human beings, people forget that. Human beings have feelings and situations happen. We know what we have to do."

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