Borussia Dortmund host Newcastle United in an eagerly anticipated Champions League tie on Tuesday night with Group F delicately poised.
The Bundesliga runners-up may have endured a familiar thumping at the hands of domestic rivals Bayern Munich on the weekend, but they hold a paper-thin advantage over Newcastle in European competition.
Lukas Nmecha’s crisp strike was somehow the only goal in a chaotic game when Dortmund travelled to Tyneside a fortnight ago. BVB’s first Champions League win of the season nudged them into second place at the halfway point of the group stage, two points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain and only above Newcastle courtesy of a superior head-to-head record. Seven-time European champions AC Milan prop up the mini table.
Here’s everything you need to know as the continent’s premier club competition enters the business end of its first phase.
Borussia Dortmund vs Newcastle H2H Record (All Time)
Current form (Last Five Games)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
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United Kingdom |
discovery+, TNT Sports 1, discovery+ App |
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United States |
Paramount+ViX |
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Canada |
DAZN |
Some egos were bruised and Dortmund’s unbeaten league start was broken but Edin Terzic’s side managed to emerge from Der Klassiker without any new injury concerns.
Emre Can was not so fortunate in Dortmund’s victory at St James’ Park last month, limping off with a hip injury which is set to keep him sidelined until the end of November.
The luckless Mateu Morey suffered another setback in his odyssey to full fitness in the summer. Morey’s last competitive appearance for Dortmund’s first team came in May 2021.
Borussia Dortmund predicted lineup vs Newcastle (4-3-3): Kobel; Sule, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Sabitzer, Ozcan, Nmecha; Malen, Haller, Adeyemi.
Newcastle’s medical team must have looked on in horror but Eddie Howe couldn’t resist putting an arm around Jacob Murphy’s shoulder after the winger swiftly re-injured a problem area within minutes of his substitution against Arsenal on Saturday. He will now require surgery.
Dan Burn was also forced off in the narrow victory over the Gunners with a back issue, joining a crowded treatment room. Matt Targett was a new inductee against Manchester United last midweek as he sustained a hamstring injury.
Harvey Barnes (ankle) and Elliot Anderson (back) will do well to feature again in 2023 while Sven Botman (knee) and Alexander Isak (groin) won’t be back until after November’s international break at the earliest.
The lesser-spotted Javier Manquillo is nursing a groin problem while Sandro Tonali is only at the start of his ten-month ban.
Newcastle predicted lineup vs Borussia Dortmund (4-3-3): Pope; Livramento, Lascelles, Schar, Trippier; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon.
Bayern and Harry Kane may have silenced the Yellow Wall but Saturday’s 4-0 loss in Der Klassiker was Dortmund’s first defeat at home in 27 matches across all competitions. Erik ten Hag was still in charge of the Ajax side that last forced Dortmund into a Champions League loss at the Signal Iduna Park in 2021.
Newcastle swept Ten Hag’s Manchester United aside as recently as Wednesday but Howe’s side may feel the effects of an unrelenting churn of intense fixtures this midweek, especially without a feverish St James’ Park to roar them on. Although that’s not to say that Newcastle will be a soft touch for Terzic’s wounded hosts.
