“I used to pray for times like this”, “Big W” - Manchester City fans thrilled as attacker starts alongside Erling Haaland for Dortmund clash

Manchester City fans were happy to see Julian Alvarez start alongside Erling Haaland for their UEFA Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, October 25.

With qualification for the knockout stages already secured, Guardiola made a few changes to his team. Backup goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno was also handed a start in goal in place of Ederson.

Julian Alvarez has made 14 appearances for the Cityzens so far this season, scoring four goals. However, he has rarely started for Guardiola's side given Erling Haaland's imperious form. The Argentine will have the opportunity to showcase his abilities in the game against Dortmund.

Here are some of the best reactions from Manchester City fans across Twitter:

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lauds Erling Haaland

Manchester City attacker Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland is set to face his former club Borussia Dortmund once again in the UEFA Champions League. The Norwegian has been absolutely phenomenal since joining Manchester City from the Bundesliga club in the summer.

Haaland has scored 22 goals and provided three assists in 15 games for the Cityzens. Pep Guardiola recently said that he did expect the former Red Bull Salzburg marksman to be so clinical inside the penalty box.

He said (via mancity.com):

"What has impressed me is that I knew he was a guy for big transitions and over 30 or 40 metres he was unstoppable. But I didn’t know how good he moves in small spaces in the box. In the end he has scored a lot of goals because he moves really well. He is so intuitive and especially he makes movements I like a lot, as a striker, he goes away from the action to after be close to the ball."

The Spanish tactician further went on to praise the star striker for his work ethic in training, saying:

“Apart from that, his work ethic, he’s one of the first to arrive at the training centre, quite similar to Ruben [Dias], and is one of the last to leave. He takes care of his body perfectly. He's well educated in the way he has to live as a professional and I think has the intention to be better."

Guardiola added:

"Of course, he’s scoring a lot of goals, and we are happy that last season he had a lot of problems here in Dortmund, he could not play regularly. This season, thanks to our physios, doctors and so on, he's being treated really well and he can play every three or four days. This is so important for us and for him, of course.”

Erling Haaland bagged the winner the last time City faced Dortmund in Matchweek 2 and he will look to be on the scoresheet today again.