The UEFA Champions League has already started with one game played by each team. The Champions League teams will play their second game in group stage matches on September 27 and 28.
In group H, German giants Borussia Dortmund will host defending Champions Real Madrid on September 27. Dortmund will look forward to taking all the three points amid poor form of the struggling team Real Madrid.
Real Madrid has been struggling this season in their local league, La Liga. They are currently 5th on the points table with 11 points - seven points less than the league leaders FC Barcelona.
They have only won two of their last five games.
Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League last season under their new manager Zinedine Zidane. However, this is a brand new season, and they have been struggling to reflect how did they perform last season.
On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund, the hosting side, will be trying to take advantage of the poor form of the defending champions. Dortmund has just lost two of their last ten games and winning seven of them. However, they lost their first away Champions League group stage match against Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur by 1-3.
What to expect in this match?
This is the second year in a row that these two teams are in the same group of the Champions League.
Both teams were in the same group of the Champions League last season. They played two games against each other in the Champions League last year, both of them ended in the 2-2 draw. Both teams have locked horns eight times since the 2012/13 Champions League campaign. The Spanish side has won two of them, and the German side has won three of them whereas both teams shared points three times.
It’s dream match for every soccer fan to watch this week. It will be exciting to see how struggling team Real Madrid subdues on fire attacking play of Borussia Dortmund. Another fact to know before this game is Madrid have never won a single game at Dortmund’s home ground Signal Iduna Park.
Aubameyang, Dortmund’s star striker, has scored eight goals in six matches this Bundesliga campaign.
Another Dortmund player, Maximilian Philipp has scored four goals in six games.
Spanish Champions, Real Madrid have won their first group stage match of this season's Champions League against APOEL Nicosia by 3-0 at Santiago Bernabeu. This time, they have to bring their best to beat Dortmund on their home ground.
Madrid’s Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo is already back in the squad after facing five games suspension by FA. The Portuguese star does not seem in his form after suspension. He struggled to score in his last two games after suspension.
Expected lineups for both teams
📋 #RMUCL
— Real Madrid C.F.🇬🇧 (@realmadriden) September 25, 2017
This is our 20-man squad for tomorrow's Champions League match against @BVB. 👇 pic.twitter.com/fvZInrrfdg
🛬🇩🇪 #RMUCL
— Real Madrid C.F.🇬🇧 (@realmadriden) September 25, 2017
We've arrived in Dortmund!
¡Hemos llegado a Dortmund! pic.twitter.com/OVEFW8XQR3
Zinedine Zidane is unlikely to make any changes from his playing-11 of last game, except Marcelo, who has sustained an injury while playing against Deportivo Alaves in La Liga.
He is likely to be sidelined for at least a month due to the hamstring injury.
Real Madrid
- GK: Keylor Navas
- Defenders: Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Vazquez
- Midfielders: Modric, Casemiro, Kovacic
- Attack: Asensio, Ronaldo, Bale
The German side is also unlikely to change playing-11 from their last game. They performed impressively by scoring six goals and conceding one in their last game against M’gladbach.
📝 BVB zu Hause ungeschlagen gegen @realmadrid 👉 https://t.co/k2KgLMeHuT pic.twitter.com/Nh3ERaO4sU
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 25, 2017
ℹ️ Parkplatz-Engpässe zu erwarten 👉 https://t.co/7PvcTr1olg #BVBRMA pic.twitter.com/Q67RKZGYoj
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 25, 2017
Borussia Dortmund
- GK: Roman Burki
- Defenders: Piszczek, Sokratis, Toprak, Toljan
- Midfielders: Gotze, Weigl, Dahoud
- Attack: Pulisic, Aubameyang, Phillip