As part of the second round of the UEFA Champions League group stage, a historic match will take place: Borussia Dortmund hosts Athletic from Bilbao. For the Basque club, this is their first encounter with a German team in the continent’s main tournament, both in the modern Champions League and the former European Cup.
The team from Bilbao aims to achieve a third away victory in this prestigious competition. Previously, Athletic secured wins in Porto, and eleven years ago under Ernesto Valverde defeated Shakhtar Donetsk. Now, the coach is once again counting on a positive result, despite the challenging squad situation.
Valverde now has defender Aymeric Laporte at his disposal, who was registered for the tournament in place of the injured Prados. This has strengthened the team’s defense, which is especially important given a number of personnel losses. Several key players will miss the upcoming match: the younger of the Williams brothers, as well as Berenguer and Vesga. They are joined by Egiluz and Prados, both recovering from cruciate ligament surgery, and the suspended Yeray.
Borussia Dortmund goes into the match unbeaten in official games this season. Around four thousand fans from Bilbao are expected to support their team at Signal Iduna Park stadium. The German club traditionally performs strongly at home and rarely drops points with the backing of their supporters.
In the first round, Dortmund drew 2-2 away with Juventus and now return to their home stadium, where their support is especially strong. Under the guidance of Niko Kovač, the team has shown consistent performances and remains one of the best home sides in Europe.
At the same time, Athletic is going through a difficult spell. After a strong start to the season, the team has gone five matches without a win, losing four and drawing one. In the Champions League, the Basques began with a home defeat to Arsenal (0-2), complicating their position in the standings.
The match will be officiated by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, with Dutchman Pol van Boekel handling VAR duties. The starting lineups are expected to be announced shortly before kickoff, but the projected lineups for both teams are already available.
The match promises to be tense: Borussia aims to strengthen their position in the group, while Athletic hopes to end their winless streak and get back into the playoff race. Kickoff at Signal Iduna Park is scheduled in a few hours, and fans from both sides are eagerly awaiting the opening whistle.
