Dortmund to defy low league position and progress
The second leg of the Champions League's initial knockout games kick off on Tuesday evening, and an intriguing match is guaranteed to be had at Signal Iduna Park. Borussia Dortmund escaped from their trip to Spain with a one-goal advantage, but much more crucially, three away goals. That represents a big hill to climb for tomorrow's visitors, and even whilst BVB interim head coach Edin Terzić continues to have a bumpy time domestically, his troops should come through this one. Read our preview here:
A massive Hazard
There was no shame or disgrace in coming off second best at the weekend to Bayern Munich. and it's fair to say Dortmund made a game of it, racing into a two-goal lead before eventually being pegged back and succumbing in the dying minutes. The defence is currently missing both senior left-backs, and the shift in formation to compensate for this on Saturday simply didn't work with the width and interplay the hosts employ. Against Sevilla, they will revert to a flat four, pushing back Nico Schulz into a more conservative starting position. With the psychological advantage of knowing their opponents will likely have to score twice more in normal time to win, there's little need to send him or Thomas Meunier hurtling forward at every opportunity, although both are better on the front foot. Thorgan Hazard will once again be offering support to the simply unstoppable Erling Haaland, and the versatile Belgian international tends to chip in with assists when deployed centrally behind the striker, pushing through balls beyond the defence for the Norwegian hitman to run onto and finish.
Suso's not so-so
Meanwhile, Sevilla are enduring a very poor run by their high standards, losing four of the last five in all competitions, culminating with a shock defeat away to relegation battlers Elche on Saturday afternoon, and head coach Julen Lopetegui cannot point to a long list of absentees as an excuse for their recent struggles. Even their qualification for the knockout phase was an almighty battle, which included being humiliated by Chelsea in their own backyard. Few players have stood out on the biggest stage this term, but attacking midfielder Suso has definitely been one of them, despite only featuring three times thus far. He scored what could still turn out to be a crucial goal in the first leg, but he will need some steel and no shortage of silk from his teammates if they're to overturn the deficit.
Oranges squeezed
Despite looking on course for qualification to Europe's elite competition once again via La Liga, Sevilla's season has probably already peaked. Unlikely to catch the 'big three' in Spain even if their form comes back quickly, fourth is the best they can hope for, and the summer should be about how they can bridge that gap domestically whilst also growing in Europe. Renowned for being the perennial winners and finalists of the secondary competition, they now have to aim their sights higher. Dortmund are in their own transition period of sorts, but are still greater than evens at 2.20 with Betfair to win on the night.
