Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid will meet on Tuesday night at the Signal Iduna Park, for what promises to be both teams' biggest game of the season up to this point.
The story of these sides seemingly mirrors one another this season. The two historic sides are having to battle for a Champions League place in their respective domestic leagues, whereas, in previous years, those places were almost confirmed before the kick of a ball.
Los Colchoneros come into this match with a 2-1 lead over their opponents from the first leg. But the second leg promises to be a much sterner test, given Dortmund’s formidable home support.
Diego Simeone was full of praise for his side’s performance last week, but acknowledged just how hard the return leg will be: “We’ll go to their stadium knowing that we’re going to find a strong team.” He also believes his side must be willing to “suffer and take advantage of spaces.”
Dortmund have mounted something of a recovery run in the past few weeks, having won six out of their last eight games, those losses coming to an in-form Stuttgart and the very opponents that they will face on Tuesday night.
Edin Terzic feels that much of Dortmund’s success in the upcoming Champions League quarterfinal will rely heavily upon the Yellow Wall.
“It’s Unique. It’s regularly sold out and it has helped us countless times over the years.”
The game has the makings of a huge fixture and with this being both side’s final chance at silverware this season, it all but guarantees that they’ll both give everything they have to progress to the semi-finals.
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Team News
Borussia Dortmund
Die shcwarzgelben were dealt a major blow over the weekend when forward, Sebastien Haller was taken off after just 10 minutes in the game against Borussia Monchengladbach with an ankle injury, which could see him miss the rest of the season.
Englishmen, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens picked up a suspected back injury and is a doubt for this one. His compatriot, Jadon Sancho missed the game over the weekend with an illness but has recovered enough to feature in some capacity.
Donyell Malen made his first appearance for Dortmund in over a month at the weekend and may very well be able to start. Algerian international Remy Bensebanini remains out.
Atletico Madrid
Memphis Depay is still suffering from an injury he picked up in the win against Villareal two weeks ago and will play no part. Vitolo and Thomas Lemar have been ruled out.
Club legend, Saul Niguez was substituted before half-time in the 3-1 win over highflyers, Girona and is a doubt heading into this one.
Samuel Dias Lino made a huge impact on the first leg, scoring his side’s second of the game, but he is suspended after accruing too many yellow cards over the course of the European campaign.
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Likely Lineups
Borussia Dortmund
Kobel; Maatsen, Hummels, Schlotterback, Wolf; Can, Sabitzer; Adeyemi, Brandt, Malen; Fullkrug.
Atletico Madrid
Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso, Azipillicueta; Llorente, Koke, De Paul; Morata, Griezmann.
Key Players
Borussia Dortmund- Julian Brandt
The German international has become an ever-present in Dortmund’s attack over the last few seasons and picked up the mantle of the club's favourite son from Marco Reus.
The attacking midfielder has 21 goal contributions in all competitions this season, including 11 assists in the Bundesliga, just one behind current leader Alejandro Grimaldo.
There is a very good chance that Simeone’s men will come to Germany looking to protect their slim lead by playing in a manner we have seen from them so many times. 11 men behind the ball and break when your opponent lets their guard down.
With those 11 men behind the ball, it is going to take something special to unlock the stubborn defence and Brandt may very well be the key.
The former Bayer Leverkusen man has developed great on-field relationships with all his wingers and that link-up play will be vital to getting around this air-tight Madrid back five.
Atletico Madrid- Rodrigo De Paul
The central midfielder has become the enforcer of this side and the gatekeeper of the Atletico defence.
An enforcer is exactly what they will need if they are to hang on to their current lead.
De Paul is incredibly physical and is not afraid to put his weight around on the pitch. You will often see him competing in the centre of the park and organising his midfield.
While we tend to focus on the World Cup winner's physical traits, his technical ability is often overlooked and something Dortmund should be wary of.
He has created 10 big chances for his side this season, which is high for someone who usually sits deep. Edin Terzic’s side are bound to leave spaces in their quest to find a leveller in this game and De Paul would be the first to expose those spaces with a killer ball to the forwards.
The Argentine even managed to score in the first leg, which is a rare occurrence as it was only his second goal of the season.
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
It will take place at the atmospheric Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund.
What time is kick-off?
The match will kick off at 20:00 GMT, 21:00 CEST.
How can I watch?
UK Viewers can watch all the action live on TNT Sports.