MX23RW : Wednesday, November 27 00:43:23| >> :120:9848:9848:

Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid

Sports Mole previews the first leg of the Champions League semi-final clash between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in Germany.

Borussia Dortmund will hope to secure a first-leg advantage when they welcome Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The German outfit needed two late goals to overcome Malaga in the previous round, while Madrid survived a second-leg comeback from Galatasaray to book their spot in the final four of the competition.

The two sides were paired in the group stages of the Champions League this season, with Dortmund winning the home match 2-1 before gaining a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu in the beginning of November.

If that pattern of results follows this time around, then Dortmund would advance to the final at Wembley where they would face either Bayern Munich or Barcelona, who clash on Tuesday.

Both teams have been second best in their domestic campaigns this season, however, with Dortmund trailing Bayern by 20 points in the Bundesliga table, while Madrid sit 13 behind Barcelona in La Liga.

The home side have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match, although one from Mats Hummels, Felipe Santana and Neven Subotic will miss out in central defence. Nuri Sahin is also expected to gain a start, with Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus forming the attacking pair.

Madrid, meanwhile, have injury concerns over Luka Modric and Marcelo, who both limped out of their 3-1 win over Real Betis in La Liga at the weekend.

Alvaro Arbeloa is also struggling, but Fabio Coentrao should be fit to start. Diego Lopez is once more expected to be given the nod ahead of Iker Casillas between the sticks, while Karim Benzema should also start up front.

Recent form:

Dortmund: DWWWW
Madrid: WWLWW

Possible lineups:

Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Hummels, Santana, Schmelzer; Blaszczykowski, Gotze, Gundogan, Sahin; Reus, Lewandowski

Madrid: Lopez; Arbeloa; Ramos, Varane, Coentrao; Ozil, Alonso, Khedira; Ronaldo, Benzema, Di Maria

Sports Mole says: 2-2


ID:80886: cacheID:80886:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4946:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema celebrate on November 17, 2012
Read Next:
Report: Benzema to start for Madrid
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona14111242142834
2Real Madrid1393128111730
3Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
4Villarreal137422521425
5Athletic Bilbao146532013723
6Osasuna146441922-322
7GironaGirona146352018221
8Mallorca146351312121
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad145361111018
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Sevilla145361318-518
13Rayo Vallecano134451314-116
14Leganes143561319-614
15Getafe142751011-113
16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!