Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, last season’s Champions League finalists, are set to clash once again in a highly anticipated showdown.
Borussia Dortmund will have the opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered in last season’s Champions League final when they hit the road to square up against Real Madrid at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
To everyone’s surprise, the defending champions find themselves 17th on the points table in the new UEFA Champions League format. While their league form has been top-notch, they suffered a massive blow at the hands of LOSC Lille in their last Champions League outing.
They failed to get on the score sheet despite all their efforts and ended up losing 1-0 on the night. Carlo Ancelotti’s team are heading into this fixture on the back of a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo and he will be confident of getting the right result at home.
The visitors are on top of the Champions League table after the first two matchdays. Last year’s finalists kick-started the new campaign with a 3-0 win over Club Brugge and in their second outing, they smashed Celtic 7-1. The German giants are high on confidence and will be eager to get one back on Real Madrid after losing to them in last season’s final.
Dortmund are heading into this fixture on the back of a 2-1 win over FC St. Pauli. They were a dominant force and will be looking to put up a similar performance against Los Blancos who are not really playing their best football at this point in time. The Hard Tackle takes a close look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti will be without the services of Dani Carvajal, Brahim Diaz and David Alaba. Los Blancos went ahead with a back three where Lucas Vazquez and Fran Garcia were wing-backs in their last outing.
However, Carlo Ancelotti will most likely revert back to a four-man defence against Borussia Dortmund. Aurelien Tchouameni should shift back to midfield, and Ferland Mendy should come in for Garcia in this fixture. It will be a 4-3-3 formation, with Thibaut Courtois in goal. Vazquez and Mendy as full-backs, while Antonio Rudiger should partner Eder Militao in the heart of the defence.
With Tchouameni taking up the defensive midfield role, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde should be in his support of either side. Rodrygo will most likely return to the starting XI. He will feature on the right with Vinicius Junior taking charge on the left and Kylian Mbappe leading the line.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
Borussia Dortmund
Nuri Sahin will be without the services of Yan Couto, Karim Adeyemi, Julien Duranville, and Giovanni Reyna for this important fixture against Real Madrid. Meanwhile, the availability of Niklas Sule and Pascal Gross is a major doubt.
The visitors will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where Gregor Kobel will take charge in goal. Julian Ryerson and Ramy Bensebaini will be the full-backs for the German club with Nico Schlotterbeck and Waldemar Anton featuring in the heart of the defence.
Emre Can will partner with Marcel Sabitzer in the centre of the park. They will form the double pivot in front of the back four. Apart from protecting the defence, they will look to help control the tempo of the game against a Madrid team that have not been playing their best football in the 2024/25 campaign.
Donyell Malen and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens will feature on the flanks, with Julian Brandt taking charge as the number ten. In attack, Serhou Guirassy will be leading the line for the away team against Real Madrid.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Can, Sabitzer; Malen, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy
Key Stats
- Real Madrid have won seven of the 14 matches played against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League. The visitors only have three wins to their name.
- The previous meeting between the two was last year’s Champions League final at Wembley, and Real Madrid won 2-0 without much difficulty on that day.
- Borussia Dortmund have failed to win any of their seven away matches against Los Blancos in the UEFA Champions League.
- Borussia Dortmund’s previous trip to the Santiago Bernabeu ended in a 3-2 defeat back in 2017.
- Borussia Dortmund last won against the team in white back in April 2014.
Player to Watch
Kylian Mbappe
While recent reports suggest Real Madrid are not happy with the signing of Mbappe, the French superstar continues to do the magic on the pitch. He scored an exceptional goal from outside the box in their last outing against Celta Vigo. He already has eight goals and an assist in his 12 outings and will be eager to add to his tally against Dortmund on Tuesday night.
Prediction
Real Madrid 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
The defeat at the hands of LOSC Lille was a massive blow for the team in white, and they cannot afford to drop any more points in the UEFA Champions League. While they are not in the best of forms, Los Blancos have still managed to get the right result on most occasions, and they will most likely find a way to get past Dortmund who have been doing wonders under Nuri Sahin. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the home team.
