📰 Table Of Contents
Head-to-Head matchup
Record (Champions League): Dortmund (0-0-0) – Hoffenheim (0-0-0)
Record (Domestic League): Dortmund; T-1st (4-0-1) – København; 6th (4-0-4)
Top Goalscorer (Champions League): N/A
Top Goalscorer (Domestic League): Dortmund; Marco Reus (2) – København; Viktor Claesson & Pep Biel (6)
Key personnel selection concerns:
Dortmund – Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely), Mahmoud Dahoud, Mateu Morey, Raphaël Guerreiro (doubt; illness), Karim Adeyemi (doubt), Donyell Malen (doubt), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (doubt)
Match Preview & Prediction
Bundesliga title-chasers Borussia Dortmund comes into their opening Champions League group stage fixture bolstered by the notion that they are – for the time being – ahead of bitter rivals Bayern Munich and currently sitting joint-top of the table alongside neutral fan favorite SC Freiburg, with Die Schwarzgelben winning four of their first-give domestic fixtures in the league to start the 2022-23 league campaign.
But it has not all been a bit of sunshine for Edin Terzić’s men this season, with Dortmund struggling to regularly find the back of the net and managing just eight goals across five league outings which included a historic 3-2 loss against Werder Bremen after the promoted outfit battled-back from two-nil down to steal all three points in the dying minutes on match day which included two goals in added time.
Dortmund has a host of possible selection issues to contend with as well, with summer signing Sébastien Haller remaining out indefinitely due to a serious health concern while Mahmoud Dahoud and Mateu Morey will also miss the home clash in the Ruhr Valley. Raphaël Guerreiro will hope to recover from his own illness in time for tomorrow night’s clash, while Karim Adeyemi, Donyell Malen, and English youth international Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are all facing a race against time to pass fit, which could leave the door open for the likes of US men’s starlet Giovanni Reyna to get the nod as part of the likely front-four.
As for FC København, the Danish giants are in a spot of bother this season after eight rounds of the Superliga after already tasting defeat on four occasions while looking well off the pace set by youth development specialists FC Nordsjælland and sitting seven points adrift while occupying sixth place in the league.
Despite having the current joint-top goalscorers in the Danish top flight in Viktor Claesson and Pep Biel, Jess Thorup’s Byens Hold will have to do incredibly well to take anything off Dortmund tomorrow despite seeing-off Turkish Süper Lig outfit Trabzonspor Kulübü in the last qualifying round before the Champions League group stage.
Summer signing and Danish international Andreas Cornelius should come into the team to lead the line but will have to contend with German international standout center-back Nico Schlotterbeck at the head of the Dortmund backline, meaning that wide pair Mohamed Daramy and the aforementioned Claesson may have to be the source of influence if the Danes are to hope to sneak an upset on their travels.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 FC København
