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Borussia Dortmund vs. Villarreal: UEFA Champions League LIVE blog and CONFIRMED teams

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Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to put their recent UEFA Champions League defeat at Manchester City firmly behind them when they welcome Villarreal to Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday (kick-off: 9pm CET).

Dortmund XI: Kobel – Anton, Anselmino, Schlotterbach (c) – Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson – Adeyemi, Brandt – Guirassy

Villarreal XI: Junior – Moreno, Foyth (c), Veiga, Cardona – Comesana, Gueye, Partey, Buchanan – Pepe, Oluwaseyi

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More on those teams

Both managers have decided to make a number of changes to their respective weekend teams, with Dortmund making five and Villarreal making seven. Yann Couto, Aaron Anselmino, Marcel Sabitzer, Daniel Svensson and Kareem Adeyemi have all come into the squad for Dortmund. For Villarreal, Santiago Morino, Juan Foyth, Sergi Cardona, Santiago Comesana, Pep Gueye, Tajon Buchanan and Tani Oluwaseyi are in the starting eleven.

© IMAGO/Lucca Fundel

Dortmund starting XI

Kobel – Anton, Anselmino, Schlotterbach (c) – Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson – Adeyemi, Brandt – Guirassy

dortmund sub

Ostrzynski, Meyer, Bensebaini, Bellingham, Gross, Duranville, Chukwuemeka, Silva, Kane, Ryerson, Campbell, Mané.

Villarreal starting XI

Junior – Moreno, Foyth (c), Veiga, Cardona – Comesana, Gueye, Partey, Buchanan – Pepe, Oluwaseyi

villarreal sub

Tenas, Altimira, Marin, Solomon, Moleiro, G. Moreno, Mikoutadze, Parejo, Akhomach, Ayoze Perez, Pedraza, Navarro

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dortmund team news

With Niklas Sule continuing to work on his recovery from a toe injury, Dortmund will be without Maxi Bayer, who had to cut the final preparatory training session short. However, Niko Kovac insisted that fans did not need to worry, saying in his press conference: “Maxi played the full 90 minutes against Stuttgart on Saturday and went on. Nothing is torn, it’s just a tightness”.

© Ina Fassbender

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Emre Can on conceding a late goal

With Dortmund dropping points from a winning position in their last two Bundesliga games due to a stoppage time goal after the 90th minute, club captain Kane called on Villarreal to work harder, saying: “We need to be more focused in the last minutes to be present. We all want to win these games, that’s not in question. I hope we will do it better again from now on.”

© Ina Fassbender

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Marcelino on facing Dortmund

“It will be a difficult match; how could it be otherwise? We expect it to be well balanced. We know Dortmund are dangerous in attack, but we know we can hurt them. We must defend well, attack with composure, and be penetrative and aggressive in the final third. The result will be decided by the team that shows the most determination and takes its chances.”

© Ina Fassbender

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Kovac on facing Villarreal

“They are doing really well in the league, right behind Barcelona and Real. They have not yet achieved what they could have achieved in the Champions League. So tomorrow’s game is important for them, they have to give everything.”

© Ina Fassbender

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Sinking yellow submarine?

Villarreal travel to Dortmund still looking for their first win in this season’s Champions League. The Yellow Submarine also took a point from Juventus after starting with a narrow defeat to Spurs, but have since lost to Man City (2-0) and tournament debutants Pfao (1-0). Despite consolidating third place in La Liga with a 2-1 win over Mallorca at the weekend, Marcelino’s side remain 32nd in the 36-team league-stage standings.

© Imago/Kostas Picoulas

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Dortmund in the mix

Dortmund’s 4–1 defeat in Manchester was their first defeat in the Champions League this season, following a 4–4 draw at Juventus and wins over Athletic Bilbao (4–1) and Copenhagen (4–2). BVB are currently 14th in the league-stage table, occupying one of the eight seeded play-off places, but are just two points outside the top eight. After Villarreal, they still have matches against Bodø/Glimt, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan.

© Imago/Cody Froggatt

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Dortmund 3-3 Stuttgart – Highlights

Dortmund fell nine points behind Bundesliga pacers Bayern Munich after twice giving up the lead in a six-goal thriller with top four rivals VfB Stuttgart. BVB suffered a similar fate in Hamburg before the November international break and with defeat to Manchester City in their last Champions League outing, it means the Black-Yellows are without a win in three matches for the first time since Niko Kovac took over as head coach in February.

Welcome!

Welcome and thank you for joining us for the build-up and live coverage of Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League clash at home to Villarreal on Matchday 5 of the league stage, which begins at 9pm CET on Tuesday.

Niko Kovac’s side were beaten 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month, but that upset has been the only blemish on an impressive European campaign so far.

In fact, City and Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich – who won 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on October 18 – are the only teams to beat BVB so far this season.

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Dortmund beat Athletic Club 4–1 in their only home Champions League match so far this season. -Maja Hitij

Borussia scored four goals in each of its three other league-stage games, sharing the spoils in an eight-goal thriller with Juventus before securing comfortable wins over Athletic Club and Copenhagen on matchdays 2 and 3.

Kovac is likely to be without defender Niklas Sule, whose toe injury is proving more complicated than initially expected. While fellow defender Rémy Bensebaini was struggling with a back problem, he recovered in time for the clash. Additionally, the 54-year-old is likely to have a full squad to choose from, with talented winger Julien Duranville also set to feature in the first team for the first time this season after suffering a shoulder injury.

Full-backs Yann Coutou and Daniel Svensson and midfielder Marcel Sabitzer are among the players who could be recalled to the squad. Germany forward Karim Adeyemi is also pushing for a start after scoring as a substitute in that game.

Watch: Kovacs’ Dortmund flip tactical switch

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Villarreal themselves are in excellent domestic form, having won each of their last three La Liga games to consolidate third place in the table behind leaders Real Madrid and current nearest rivals Barcelona.

However, European victories have proven very difficult to achieve. The Yellow Submariners are yet to claim their first Champions League league stage win this season, drawing with Juventus but losing to Tottenham Hotspur, Man City and Cypriot outfit Paphos.

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Villarreal were defeated by Cypriot team Paphos in their last Champions League game. – Imago/Kostas Picoulas

Head coach Marcelino and his players travel to Signal Iduna Park without long-term absentees Pau Cabanes and Logan Costa, both of whom damaged knee ligaments during the summer. Willie Kambwala is also unlikely to return until the New Year after tearing a thigh muscle in July.

Manor Solomon may miss with a back problem, but Georges Mikoutadze is close to a return to action after suffering a muscle injury.

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  • Dortmund have lost only two of their last 14 UEFA competition home matches against Spanish clubs (W8 D4).
  • Serhou Guerrese has scored 10 goals in his last eight home games in the Champions League.
  • The Black-Yellows need two goals on Tuesday night to reach 350 in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.
  • Borussia has lost only one of its last 19 Champions League matches at home (W12, D6).
  • This is the first UEFA competition meeting between Dortmund and Villarreal.
  • Villarreal are without a win in their last seven matches (D2, L5) in the Champions League.

Confirmed teams

Dortmund: Kobel – Anton, Anselmino, Schlotterbach (c) – Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson – Adeyemi, Brandt – Guirassy
Dortmund sub: Ostrzynski, Meyer, Bensebaini, Bellingham, Gross, Duranville, Chukwuemeka, Silva, Kane, Ryerson, Campbell, Mane.
Outside: sole (toe)
coach: Niko Kovac

Villarreal: Junior – Moreno, Foyth (c), Veiga, Cardona – Comesana, Gueye, Partey, Buchanan – Pepe, Oluwaseyi
Villarreal sub: Tenas, Altimira, Marin, Solomon, Moleiro, G. Moreno, Mikoutadze, Parejo, Akhomach, Ayoze Perez, Pedraza, Navarro
Outside: Cambavala (hamstring), Cabanes (knee), Costa (knee)
coach: Marcelino



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