Champions League | League Stage

Oct 1, 2024 at 8pm UK

Signal-Iduna-Park

Dortmund vs Celtic

Match preview

Last season's runners-up got off to a flying start this term, despite a slow start, and thumped three goals past Club Brugge without reply at Jan Breydel Stadion.

Substitute Jamie Gittens made a big impact with two late goals in Belgium, before star striker Serhou Guirassy finished things off with a penalty in stoppage time.

Dortmund have made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League in almost all of their last 11 campaigns. That's their goal again this year under new boss Nuri Sahin, who replaced Edin Terzic as head coach in the summer.

At just 36, the former BVB midfielder is the youngest manager involved in this year's Champions League. Aside from winning in Bruges, his reign hasn't been too smooth so far.

Just a week after losing 5-1 to Stuttgart, Sahin's team were lucky not to be three goals down against Bochum on Friday. Then Guirassy scored twice and Karim Adeyemi set up two more goals, turning the game around.

While their defence could be stronger, Dortmund have now scored 10 times across three home games this season. They've also lost just three of their last 17 European matches on home turf.

Next up for Die Schwarzgelben is another former European champion, with whom they've already faced off twice in the UEFA Cup, winning both matches on a two-leg basis.

It's not just that Celtic haven't beaten Borussia Dortmund yet. They've never even won a competitive match in Germany. They've lost four out of the last five times they've played there.

Even so, the Bhoys will be travelling there in great form, having won all nine games so far this season, scoring 33 goals and conceding just four.

In their last game, Brendan Rodgers' team beat St Johnstone 6-0 in the Scottish Premiership. They've scored 16 goals in their last three games overall.

The standout moment from that winning streak came at Parkhead. Celtic found the back of the net four times during the second half of their league opener against Slovan Bratislava. They ultimately stormed to a 5-1 win, which is the Glasgow club's biggest Champions League victory to date.

In total, they've won their last 15 games, going back to a 3-3 draw against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-finals in April. They even went on to win 6-5 on penalties.

So, reaching the Champions League knockout stages for just a fourth time is their goal, but Celtic really need to improve their dismal away record in continental competition. They've only won one of their last 11 European away games, losing nine.

Recent Performance

Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:W

Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):WDWWLW

Celtic Champions League form:W

Celtic form (all competitions):WWWWWW

Injuries and suspensions

Borussia Dortmund

42A. Kabar

7G. Reyna

Celtic

16J. McCarthy

Possible starting lineups

Borussia Dortmund(4-2-3-1)

1Kobel(GK)

2Couto(DR)

4Schlotterbeck(DC)

3Anton(DC)

26Ryerson(DL)

13Groß(DMC)

23Can(DMC)

27Adeyemi(AMR)

10Brandt(AMC)

43Gittens(AML)

9Guirassy(FW)

Celtic(4-3-3)

1Schmeichel(GK)

2Johnston(DR)

5Scales(DC)

20Carter-Vickers(DC)

3Taylor(DL)

27Engels(MC)

41Hatate(MC)

42McGregor(MC)

10Kühn(FWR)

8Furuhashi(FW)

38Maeda(FWL)