Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan square off at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday, each looking for their first Champions League Group F victory at the second attempt.

On the opening day of play, Edin Terzic’s team was defeated by Paris Saint-Germain 2-0, while the Rossoneri were held to a scoreless draw by Newcastle United as a result of numerous missed opportunities.

 

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Match preview

A few teams have left PSG’s home field with memorable victories to brag about before the Parc des Princes fortress comes under attack in 2023, but Dortmund was unable to join that elite club as they were defeated by Les Parisiens’ superiority a week ago.

Niklas Sule’s handball gave Kylian Mbappe the chance to score from 12 yards just four minutes into the second half, and before the hour mark, former Dortmund winger Achraf Hakimi handed his former club a 2-0 opening defeat.

With plenty of continental football still to be played, BVB’s loss in the French capital ended a 13-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. However, they have bounced back nicely from their opening Champions League loss with victories over Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

Ramy Bensebaini was foolishly sent off against Hoffenheim for kicking the ball away while already on a yellow card, but Niclas Fullkrug’s first BVB goal, Marco Reus’s improvised goal, and Julian Ryerson’s incredible solo run all helped Dortmund extend their domestic unbeaten streak, moving them up to fourth in the newly formed Bundesliga table.

However, Dortmund welcome Milan to their stadium with just one clean sheet to their name from their last six games, despite home shutouts in the Champions League being commonplace; the German giants have allowed just one goal in their last five continental games at Signal Iduna Park. Andrej Kramaric also made the net ripple from 12 yards.

Chance after chance came and went for Milan during their battle with Champions League returnees Newcastle two weeks ago, as Stefano Pioli‘s men could not defeat their own profligacy, dogged Magpies defending or Nick Pope heroics to begin their European adventure in perfect fashion.

A total of 25 chances was not enough for Milan to wear their English counterparts down, but as has been the case with Dortmund, the Rossoneri have rectified those European errors with a string of stellar domestic results, triumphing in each of their last three Serie A contests.

During Saturday’s visit of Lazio, the San Siro faithful witnessed another goalless first half, but two Rafael Leao cutbacks for Noah Okafor and Christian Pulisic did the damage in the second 45 minutes, keeping the second-placed Rossoneri level on points with neighbours Inter Milan at the summit.

The 0-0 draw with Newcastle represents the only time this season that Pioli’s troops have failed to make the net bulge, but owing to their relatively uneventful knockout affairs last year, Pioli’s men now have just two goals to show from their last 540 minutes of Champions League football – failing to score in each of their last three top-level continental contests.

Wednesday’s intriguing showdown will mark the first competitive meeting between Milan and Dortmund since the 2002-03 group stage, where the Rossoneri prevailed 1-0 in Germany thanks to a Filippo Inzaghi effort, before BVB earned revenge by the same scoreline at San Siro through Jan Koller.

 

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Team News

© Reuters

While a domestic ban is now coming Bensebaini’s way, the Algerian left-back is fine to take his place in the Dortmund XI this week, which is more than can be said for Mateu Morey (knee) or Thomas Meunier (hamstring).

Terzic is hopeful that Marcel Sabitzer will be able to resume training this week as he rehabilitates from the adductor problem he sustained against PSG, but the visit of Milan could still come too soon for the Austrian, whose role ought to be filled by Salih Ozcan for the time being.

Emre Can was only a second-half substitute against Hoffenheim, but the ex-Liverpool man will expect to return to the engine room alongside Ozcan, while it remains to be seen if Reus’s third Bundesliga goal of the season will be enough to keep Karim Adeyemi at bay.

Speaking of former Premier League midfielders in the treatment room, Milan new boy Ruben Loftus-Cheek sustained an abdominal injury against Lazio at the weekend and will not be at his team’s disposal this week.

Loftus-Cheek’s absence complicates Pioli’s midfield dilemma, as Ismael Bennacer (knee) and Rade Krunic (muscle) are also out of contention, so Yunus Musah is expected to join Tijjani Reijnders and either Tommaso Pobega or Yacine Adli in the trident.

Mattia Caldara (ankle) and Pierre Kalulu (muscle) are also confined to the visitors’ infirmary, and owing to his goal at the weekend, Pulisic can feel confident of holding off Samuel Chukwueze to start against his old club on the right flank.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ozcan, Can, Brandt; Malen, Fullkrug, Adeyemi

AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Musah, Reijnders, Pobega; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao

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We say: Borussia Dortmund 1-1 AC Milan

Unbeaten on home soil since August 2022, Dortmund can prolong their hot streak at Signal Iduna Park against a depleted Milan team, whose midfield options are severely limited at the minute.

The Rossoneri already struggle for prolific attacking displays in the Champions League, and while making the net ripple domestically is never normally an issue for Pioli’s team, their powers should wane against a Dortmund side who possess plenty of defensive wherewithal in front of the home crowd.