A rematch of the 2023-24 Champions League final, holders Real Madrid and hopefuls Borussia Dortmund renew hostilities in Tuesday's league phase encounter at the Bernabeu.
It has been almost five months since Carlo Ancelotti's men broke BVB hearts to win European Cup number 15, as the German giants were left to lament missed chance after missed chance at Wembley.
Match preview
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Always possessing the formula for Champions League success, no matter how tough the going gets, Real Madrid conquered the continent for the 15th time last season, when Dortmund failed to make their dominance pay before being hit with two second-half sucker punches.
However, Los Blancos' powers have waned ever so slightly this term, as on matchday two of the 2024-25 edition, they were consigned to their first loss in Europe's premier competition since May 2023, when a Jonathan David strike earned Lille a famous 1-0 victory.
The reigning champions had at least got the better of Dortmund's Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart 3-1 in their opening match of the tournament, but their three-point haul is currently not even good enough for a seeded knockout place; they sit 17th in the 36-team table at this fledgling stage.
Ancelotti's men have come up with the required responses to that shock setback against Les Dogues, though, defeating Villarreal and Celta Vigo in La Liga either side of the international break; the latter triumph saw them temporarily move level on points with leaders Barcelona - whom they face in El Clasico at the weekend - at the top of the table.
Los Blancos' 17-month unbeaten sequence in the Champions League may now be a thing of the past, but not since April 2022 have they lost a top-level European home match, although they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five continental clashes at the Bernabeu.
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If only Dortmund had displayed similar levels of ruthlessness against Real Madrid as they did against Celtic earlier this month, BVB may have been heading to the Spanish capital this week with Champions League medals around their necks, as Nuri Sahin's men were in seventh heaven against Brendan Rodgers's troops.
After Daizen Maeda cancelled out an early Emre Can opener, Dortmund went on the warpath, as Liverpool-linked Karim Adeyemi helped himself to a hat-trick while Serhou Guirassy (two) and Felix Nmecha also got in on the act for last season's vengeful runners-up.
Having also put three unanswered goals past Club Brugge on matchday one, Sahin's side are currently leading the way at the top of the 36-team table thanks to their significantly superior goal difference over the other six sides to have won both of their first two games.
Dortmund's European excellence has come in contrast to their mixed domestic results; the visitors just about managed to scrape a nervy 2-1 win over St Pauli at the weekend, but they have lost their last two away games in the Bundesliga to Stuttgart (5-1) and Union Berlin (2-1).
An unwanted road record could now be set by Dortmund in the Champions League, as they have visited the Bernabeu seven times without ever managing to win, losing five times and drawing twice; no side has failed to triumph in their first eight Champions League games at a single away venue.
Team News
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With Kylian Mbappe - who has recently been named as a reasonable suspect in an alleged rape case in Sweden, accusations he vehemently denies - making a full recovery from a muscular problem, Real are only missing their three known absentees for Tuesday's game in Dani Carvajal (knee), David Alaba (knee) and Brahim Diaz (abductor).
Carvajal's season-ending surgery has raised speculation that Real could pursue a January deal for Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Lucas Vazquez is holding the fort for the time being.
One change to the Blancos' starting XI may come on the opposite side of defence, where Ferland Mendy should replace Fran Garcia, while Rodrygo will also be eyeing a return to the XI, potentially in Aurelien Tchouameni's place after the Frenchman left Monday's training session early due to discomfort.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi's heroic hat-trick performance against Celtic came at a cost, as the German suffered a severe hamstring injury at the start of the second half and is not expected to be back in action until the end of November.
Adeyemi is joined in the Dortmund infirmary by Julien Duranville (thigh), Giovanni Reyna (groin) and Yan Couto (muscle), while Pascal Gross and Niklas Sule are both on the doubtful list; the former had to be taken off at half time in the win over St Pauli, but both have trained.
Either Nmecha or the up-and-coming Jamie Bynoe-Gittens should fill in for Gross if needed; if the latter plays and scores, he would become the youngest English player to ever bag a goal against Real Madrid in the UCL, breaking the record set by a 20-year-old Alan Smith for Leeds United in 2001.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Bellingham, Tchouameni, Valverde; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Can, Sabitzer; Malen, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy
We say: Real Madrid 1-0 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund learned a harsh lesson about what happens if you do not take your chances against Real Madrid, and they have more than made up for those deficiencies in the Champions League so far this term, even if Club Brugge and Celtic do not quite stack up to Los Blancos' mastery.
However, Sahin's men have been too inconsistent and frail at the back for us to believe that the outcome of Tuesday's game will be any different, and BVB's 100% UCL record should come to a swift end at the Bernabeu, even if there is just one goal in it.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
