Real Madrid will be eyeing their 15th UEFA Champions League title when they square up against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund have had an exceptional run in this year’s UEFA Champions League as they prepare to take on Real Madrid on Saturday. They came out of the group of death and worked their way into yet another UCL final at Wembley. They lost to Bayern Munich last time out and will hope they can get the better of Spanish giants Real Madrid at the iconic stadium in England.
The Black and Yellows came out on top in the so-called group of death that had PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle United alongside them. BVB eased past PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 before scripting a sensational win over Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, they squared up against PSG, who finished second in their own group. Borussia Dortmund put in two exceptional performances in the penultimate round to make it to the final. They kept a clean sheet both home and away against the French giants, helping them book their place in the ultimate fixture of the season.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had a relatively easier group where they won each of their six games to finish above Napoli. While the Merengues were not at their best, they still managed to go past RB Leipzig in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, they faced Manchester City, and things did get difficult for them.
City had knocked them out last term and with the first leg at Santiago Bernabeu ending 3-3, Real Madrid were in trouble heading into their backyard. But, they managed to take the game to penalties at the Eithad and got the result they wanted. While the semi-final against Bayern Munich was also tricky, in the end, Joselu won it for Los Blancos in the game’s final minutes.
Both teams have had quite a journey to the final and will hope to get the better of their rivals on the day when it matters the most. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look and tries to figure out the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Borussia Dortmund
Edin Terzic will be without the services of Ramy Bensebaini and Julien Duranville. Apart from the duo, Sebastien Haller is the only concern for Borussia Dortmund as the striker has just resumed team training following an ankle injury. But, he is unlikely to start ahead of Niclas Fullkrug. As a result, Dortmund do not have much to worry about.
Gregor Kobel has been one of the best shot-stoppers in the world this season, and he will feature in goal for Terzic’s team that will lineup in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Julian Ryerson and Ian Maatsen will be the full-backs for them, with Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck featuring in the heart of the defence.
Borussia Dortmund’s success this season had depended on their rock-solid defence, and the backline will aim to keep it tight at the back against a star-studded Real Madrid attack. Meanwhile, Emre Can and Marcel Sabitzer will form the double pivot in front of the back four and look to help the defence.
Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi will provide the width of their attacks. Sancho has been in exceptional form since returning to his former club on loan and he will look to end things on a high. Julian Brandt will be the attacking midfielder, and Niclas Fullkrug will lead the line for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can; Sancho, Brandt, Adeyemi; Fullkrug
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti will be without the services of David Alaba, and Aurelien Tchouameni is also unavailable as he is yet to recover from the foot problem. Andriy Lunin is suffering from flu and has been sidelined from training. While he will travel to London in hopes of recovering in time, it looks like their preferred number one Thibaut Courtois will be back in goal.
The Italian manager is unlikely to make any major changes to his preferred XI, and he will stick to the 4-4-2 formation, with Courtois in goal. Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy will be the full-backs, while Antonio Rudiger will feature in the heart of the defence alongside Nacho.
Eduardo Camavinga will feature in the holding role in the absence of Tchouameni, and he will have the support of Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde in the centre of the park. Jude Bellingham, who has had an exceptional debut season for Real Madrid, will be the attacking midfielder. Finally, Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior will continue as their two forwards up top.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
Key Stats
- Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have squared up against each other on 14 occasions. Los Blancos have the upper hand, having won six of those outings with Dortmund winning only thrice.
- In the 14 matches between the two, Real Madrid have scored 24 goals, while Borussia Dortmund only have 19 to their name.
- Real Madrid have only trailed for 7.5% of their total game time in the UEFA Champions League this season (90 minutes out of 1,200), the lowest percentage of any side. They have come back to win four matches in which they have been behind in the competition this term, with only Barcelona in 1999/2000 and Real Madrid themselves in 2016/17 (five each) having more comebacks wins in a single campaign in the competition.
- Across the last three UEFA Champions League campaigns (since 2021/22), Vinicius Junior has been directly involved in more goals than any other player (31 – 16 goals, 15 assists). 17 of those have come in the knockout stages (eight goals, nine assists), which is also the most of any player in this period.
- Jude Bellingham has created more chances under pressure (19) than any other midfielder in the UEFA Champions League, with four of those resulting in an assist for a Real Madrid teammate. The only player to provide more assists while under pressure from at least one opposition player in the current tournament is Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer (5).
Player to Watch
Jude Bellingham
No doubt Bellingham has had a sensational debut season at Real Madrid with 23 goals and 12 assists in his 41 outings. He has four goals and four assists in his ten outings in the Champions League.
While he did put in excellent shifts against Manchester City and Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals and the semis, the 20-year-old did not contribute towards a goal. This is going to be the biggest game of his club career, and he will be eager to have a big say on the end result of the game.
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund kept a clean sheet in both legs of the semi-finals against PSG. Their defensive block has been one of the major reasons for their incredible run, and they will aim to stop the star-studded Real Madrid attack. However, they won’t find it easy as stopping Madrid from scoring is no easy task.
The team in white finds ways to win, but this time, they might not have to wait until the very end. The first half could see both teams have a conservative approach but once either team finds the back of the net, we could see a more open-ended game with dominance from Real Madrid’s end. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for the Spanish giants.