Preview: Lille vs  Borussia Dortmund ,Champions League Round of 16  2nd Leg

Preview: Lille vs Borussia Dortmund ,Champions League Round of 16 2nd Leg

  • boon123 2025/03/11 03:00
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Still on course for a historic Champions League achievement, Lille welcome Borussia Dortmund for the return leg of their round of 16 tie on Wednesday.


preview


Not the most obvious of advantages, but after battling to a 1-1 draw at Dortmund, Lille have every reason to believe they can make history, especially with Stade Pierre-Mauroy standing as an imposing fortress in European competition.


LOSC boast a formidable record at the ground, winning 10 of their last 12 continental matches (D2), including three of four outings in this season's league phase, having edged Sturm Graz 3-2, stunned holders Real Madrid 1-0 and dismantled Feyenoord 6-1 on matchday eight, only dropping points in a 1-1 stalemate against Juventus before that.


In fact, Lille's impressive form on home soil played a pivotal role in their automatic qualification for this stage, contributing 10 points to their total haul of 16 and ensuring a seventh-place finish in the opening rounds.


Their strength at Stade Pierre-Mauroy was evident once again in Ligue 1 at the weekend, as Bruno Genesio's side battled past bottom-placed Montpellier HSC 1-0, with Jonathan David striking early in the second half to secure a hard-fought win.


Victory on Wednesday would see Lille claim their first-ever knockout tie triumph in the Champions League, though they will need to break a familiar pattern, with last week's result marking the third consecutive draw in meetings between these sides.


Their previous encounters came in the UEFA Cup fourth round in 2001-02, when a goalless stalemate in Germany was followed by a 1-1 scoreline in France, allowing Dortmund to progress on away goals.


If beautiful goals alone could guarantee victory, Karim Adeyemi's sublime half-volley in the first leg would have done the job, but instead, Hakon Arnar Haraldsson's second-half equaliser has left Niko Kovac's side facing an uphill battle to reach back-to-back quarter-finals.


That challenge is only heightened by BVB's struggles in France, where they have won just two of their last 11 trips (D2 L6), though they can take heart from their most recent outing — a 1-0 victory at Paris Saint-Germain last term, which set them on course for a 2-0 aggregate triumph before they fell to Real Madrid in the final.


That success over PSG brought Die Borussen's record in two-legged ties against French clubs to four wins and three losses, having suffered elimination in the previous three.


Dortmund will hope to scale through another such opponent on Wednesday, with their away form in this season's competition offering encouragement, winning three of five matches (L2), including a commanding 3-0 triumph at Sporting Lisbon in the knockout phase play-off opening leg, which ultimately proved decisive.


However, BVB have an unwanted statistic to overcome, having been eliminated in seven of the eight European ties where they drew at home in the first leg, most recently against Liverpool in the 2015-16 Europa League quarter-finals (1-1 h, 3-4 a).


Adding to their need for a response, Dortmund enter this Wednesday's clash on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Augsburg in the Bundesliga, extending their winless run to two matches following last week's stalemate in France.


Lille possible starting lineup:

Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Ribeiro, Ismaily; Bouaddi, Andre, Mukau; Mbappe, David, Haraldsson


Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Kobel; Ryerson, Can, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Gross; Adeyemi, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens; Guirassy

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