After making an incredible start to life in the Bundesliga as Borussia Dortmund head coach, Peter Bosz welcomes Spanish champions Real Madrid to the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday night in the Champions League.
The hosts come into this game on good form, putting six past a hapless Borussia Mönchengladbach side on Saturday evening with a hat-trick from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It seems as though fans have soon forgotten about Thomas Tuchel, given that Bosz’ Dortmund has scored 19 goals in just six games, conceding just one.
Losing their opening Champions League game of the 2017/18 season to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, Bosz will want to do all he can to get his European campaign up and running with Dortmund.
Unlike Dortmund, it’s fair to say that Real Madrid haven’t had a great start to their La Liga campaign. Beaten at home to Real Betis, Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid have won three, drawn two and lost one in their six Spanish league games.
And like Arsenal vs Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid is now a fixture we’re likely to see almost every year. The two were drawn in the same group in last season’s Champions League with both games resulting in a 2-2 draw but heading into this game, there’s no doubt that BVB are in the better form.
Key Players
Andriy Yarmolenko – Even with the plethora of talent Borussia Dortmund have to offer, summer arrival Andriy Yarmolenko is a standout player. Brought in for €25m following Ousmane Dembélé’s move to Barcelona, the Ukrainian was brought in to fill the void on the right flank despite being a different player to his predecessor.
Very much a Ukrainian Arjen Robben, the 27-year-old likes to cut inside on to his left foot, which is a devastating tool and even though he’s yet to net in the Bundesliga in his three games, Yarmolenko has created three, which adds to his goal that came against Tottenham Hotspur in the opening game of the Champions League.
Toni Kroos – The obvious one here would be to pick Cristiano Ronaldo, but perhaps Real Madrid’s most under-appreciated player in Germany international, Toni Kroos. The 27-year-old is quickly making a name for himself alongside Luka Modric, while he’s up there with the best crop of midfielders in today’s modern game.
Able to play deep or as a No. 10 – as shown for Germany, many of Real Madrid’s attacks come through Kroos while his dead ball abilities offer a different outlet from a Madrid point of view. To keep him quiet, Gonzalo Castro and Nuri Sahin must keep close tabs on him.
Probable XI’s
Borussia Dortmund: Bürki – Piszczek, Sokratis, Toprak, Zagadou – Castro, Sahin, Götze – Yarmolenko, Aubameyang, Pulisic.
Real Madrid: Navas – Carvajal, Varane, Ramos (c), Nacho – Kroos, Casemiro, Modric – Isco, Asensio – Ronaldo.
By Daniel Pinder.
