A spot in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 will be on the line when Borussia Dortmund and Sporting CP face off at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.
The curtains will fall on the UEFA Champions League knockout phase playoffs on Wednesday. The day will feature four matches, with the action kicking off with Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting CP at Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund narrowly missed out on a top-eight spot in the UEFA Champions League standings, with successive defeats on Matchday 6 and Matchday 7 leading to a tenth-placed finish. However, while the Black and Yellows have been solid in European football, their fortunes have plummeted in the Bundesliga, with Niko Kovac yet to win a league game at the club. The latest defeat has dropped Dortmund to 11th on the table.
As for Sporting CP, Ruben Amorim’s departure has been detrimental to both parties’ fortunes. While the Lions are still atop the Primeira Liga table, their lead over SL Benfica has come down to only two points. The struggles have been evident in Europe, with the Portuguese champions making it to the top 24 by the skin of their teeth before losing in the first leg of the playoff clash.
As iterated, Sporting CP lost to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg, with the German giants clinching a 3-0 win last week. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Borussia Dortmund
Niko Kovac has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Borussia Dortmund manager will be bereft of the services of three first-team players on Wednesday.
Ramy Bensebaini (muscle) and Felix Nmecha (knee) are the most notable absentees, while Filippo Mane is recovering from a muscular issue. Otherwise, Kovac has a full-strength squad to take on Sporting CP this midweek.
Gregor Kobel will take his spot between the sticks, with Borussia Dortmund lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Sporting CP on Wednesday. The backline should feature Julian Ryerson, Emre Can, Nico Schlotterbeck, and Daniel Svensson.
As for the midfield unit, Marcel Sabitzer and Pascal Gross should pair up in the double pivot, with Julian Brandt reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Serhou Guirassy will lead the line for Borussia Dortmund against Sporting CP, with Jamie Gittens and Karim Adeyemi being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Can, Schlotterbeck, Svensson; Sabitzer, Gross; Adeyemi, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy
Sporting CP
Like his counterpart in the Borussia Dortmund dugout, Rui Borges has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Signal Iduna Park. The Sporting CP manager will be without three first-team players on Wednesday.
Pedro Goncalves is closing in on returning from a muscular injury. However, Wednesday’s game has come too soon for the Portuguese international. Meanwhile, Nuno Santos (knee) and Geny Catamo (ankle) remain on the sidelines.
Rui Silva will take his place between the sticks, with Sporting CP lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. The backline should feature Ivan Fresneda, Ousmane Diomande, Goncalo Inacio, and Matheus Reis.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Morten Hjulmand and Joao Simoes in the double pivot. Francisco Trincao will reprise the no. 10 role, with Geovany Quenda and Maximiliano Araujo being the two wide attackers. Finally, Viktor Gyokeres should spearhead the Sporting CP attack against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva; Fresneda, Diomande, Inacio, Matheus Reis; Hjulmand, Joao Simoes; Quenda, Trincao, Araujo; Gyokeres
Key Stats
- Borussia Dortmund have won four of their five games vs Sporting CP in all competitions (L1), with both of their previous home games finishing 1-0. Dortmund’s 3-0 win in the first leg was the 12th time they have won the first leg of a major European knockout stage tie away from home. They have progressed from the previous 11.
- Sporting CP have lost 12 of their 14 away games against German sides in all European competition, the exceptions being a 0-0 draw at Bayern Munich (October 2006) and a 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt (September 2022), both in the UEFA Champions League. The Portuguese champions have lost their last two away matches in the UEFA Champions League, both by the same scoreline (1-2 vs Club Brugge and RB Leipzig). They most recently lost three consecutive away games in major European competition in September 2021, where the third game in that run was a defeat at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League (0-1).
- Borussia Dortmund have only lost one of their last 15 home matches in the UEFA Champions League (W10 D4), with that lone defeat coming to Barcelona in December (2-3). The German giants have netted 33 goals across these 15 matches at an average of 2.2 per outing.
- Niko Kovac has overseen 12 UEFA Champions League matches thus far (11 with Bayern Munich). His record reads: W8, D3, L1.
- Karim Adeyemi has been involved in five goals in his last three UEFA Champions League starts for Borussia Dortmund (G4 A1). He has also had a hand in seven goals in his seven most recent starts at Signal Iduna Park in the competition (G5 A2).
Player to Watch
Serhou Guirassy
While Karim Adeyemi, Geovany Quenda, and Viktor Gyokeres were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Serhou Guirassy as our Player to Watch. The Guinean international is only the third Borussia Dortmund player to score ten goals in a Champions League campaign after Robert Lewandowski (2012/13) and Erling Haaland (2020/21).
Guirassy has been involved in 13 UEFA Champions League goals this season (G10 A3), the most by a Borussia Dortmund player in a single campaign. His ten strikes are the joint second most by an African player in a Champions League season, behind only Sebastien Haller in 2021/22 (11). He will be eager to add to that tally and guide the Black and Yellows to the round of 16.
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Sporting CP
With Aston Villa or LOSC Lille waiting in the round of 16, Borussia Dortmund and Sporting CP will feel a pathway to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final is possible. However, the visitors have a tall order after suffering a 3-0 defeat in the first leg.
While Rui Borges’s men will give the hosts a run for their money, they will not have the quality to topple them. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Niko Kovac and his charges, with Sporting CP suffering a third successive 2-1 defeat on the road in the UEFA Champions League.