The Westfalenstadion plays host to Borussia Dortmund's first Champions League group-stage match of the campaign, as Danish side Copenhagen make the journey to Germany on Tuesday.
Edin Terzic's side secured a straightforward passage into the group stage courtesy of a second-placed finish in the Bundesliga, while their visitors overcame Trabzonspor in the playoff round.
Match preview
Kicking off yet another challenging quest to end Bayern Munich's perennial reign of dominance in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund firstly lost Erling Braut Haaland to Manchester City before learning the shocking news that his replacement, Sebastien Haller, had been diagnosed with a testicular tumour.
Nevertheless, the timeless veteran Marco Reus has been on top form to help BVB make a promising start to the new campaign, and the 33-year-old scored his side's only goal in a 1-0 league success over Hoffenheim at the weekend.
A tally of 12 points from a possible 15 has allowed Dortmund to quickly steal a march on reigning champions Bayern, and Terzic's side are one point clear of the Bavarians in second in the table, with Freiburg only leading the way on goal difference.
Facing RB Leipzig and Manchester City straight after their showdown with Copenhagen will provide the Black and Yellow with a stern test of their credentials, though, and Dortmund could only finish third in their Champions League group behind Sporting Lisbon and Ajax last year.
A shot at glory in the Europa League then went begging for the Bundesliga club, who lost to eventual runners-up Rangers in the last 32, but not since September 2019 have the hosts failed to score at the Westfalenstadion in the Champions League.
By ending a brief three-year spell without a Danish Superliga title to their name, capital outfit Copenhagen entered the 2022-23 Champions League in the playoff round, where a 2-1 home success over Turkey's Trabzonspor would do the damage before a goalless draw away from home.
A first appearance in the group stage since the 2016-17 season now awaits the 14-time national champions, who have only ever managed to progress to the knockout rounds on one previous occasion - losing 2-0 on aggregate to Chelsea in the 2010-11 last 16 - and they were spectacularly eliminated from last year's Europa Conference League by PSV Eindhoven.
Copenhagen and PSV played out a pulsating 4-4 last-16 first-leg draw in the Netherlands before the Danish side were thumped 4-0 on their own turf, and coincidentally, fours have also been the theme in the early stages of their new Danish Superliga season.
Jess Thorup's side have followed a pattern of losing one then winning one domestically so far, posting four wins and four defeats to sit fifth in the early-season standings, and they ran out 1-0 winners over Silkeborg at the weekend thanks to a Viktor Claesson strike.
Not since the 2001-02 UEFA Cup have Dortmund and Copenhagen locked horns in any competition, and the Black and Yellow claimed a pair of 1-0 wins that year to win their third-round fixture before going on to lose to Feyenoord in the final.
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
Team News
Dortmund's medical bay is rather well-occupied at present, and the home side's latest injury concern is attacker Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who dislocated his shoulder in the weekend's win over Hoffenheim and will miss out here.
While Bynoe-Gittens may be able to avoid surgery, Mahmoud Dahoud must go under the knife to address his own shoulder issue and will be out until November, while Karim Adeyemi, Raphael Guerreiro, Mateu Morey and Donyell Malen also missed out against Hoffenheim.
Malen and Adeyemi may be able to come back for the Champions League, while Terzic is confident that Guerreiro will recover from illness in time, and Thorgan Hazard should be drafted into the side following Bynoe-Gittens's injury.
As for Copenhagen, 16-year-old Roony Bardghji and Kamil Grabara are expected to sit this one out as they recover from injuries, but Nicolai Boilesen was fit enough to come off the bench against Silkeborg.
With striker Khouma Babacar absent at the weekend amid links with a move away, the onus will be on Andreas Cornelius to provide the attacking threat, especially with current top goalscorer Pep Biel departing for Olympiacos.
Peter Ankersen was another notable absentee from the squad to face Silkeborg, while former Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Mat Ryan will act as the last line of defence.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Meunier, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Bellingham, Ozcan; Brandt, Reus, Hazard; Modeste
Copenhagen possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Diks, Vavro, Boilesen, Kristiansen; Lerager, Zeca, Falk; Daramy, Cornelius, Claesson
We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Copenhagen
In spite of Borussia Dortmund's heavily-occupied treatment room, Copenhagen's inconsistent form makes it difficult to envisage any shocks occurring at the Westfalenstadion, and Terzic may be boosted by a couple of attacking returnees either way.
The Danish champions are still capable of frustrating their more revered hosts, but the Black and Yellow ought to kick off their Champions League campaign with a straightforward three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
