Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan will continue their pursuit of Group F leaders Barcelona when the two teams meet in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Both sides have collected four points from their three group fixtures thus far with identical records of one win, one draw and one defeat, although Inter are currently second due to their superior head-to-head record.
Match preview
© Reuters
Dortmund would have been pleased with their start to Group F having followed a goalless draw at home Barca with a 2-0 victory away to Slavia Prague at the start of October.
BVB could not build on their positive start with a result in Milan, though, with the German giants losing 2-0 against Inter to drop into third spot in the group. It is far from a terminal position, but there is no downplaying the importance of Tuesday's affair at Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund have only actually won two of their last eight Champions League matches; they have reached the round of 16 in five of their last six participations in the competition, though, and therefore it would be a shock if they failed to qualify for the knockout round.
Tuesday will be the first time that these two sides have met in Germany since the quarter-finals of the 1993-94 UEFA Cup. Inter recorded a 3-1 win on that occasion before ultimately qualifying for the semi-finals with a 4-3 aggregate victory despite losing 2-1 in the reverse game.
Lucien Favre's side will enter this match off the back of a positive 3-0 win over Wolfsburg in the league on Saturday, though, which has seen them rise into second position in the Bundesliga table.
© Reuters
Now under the management of Antonio Conte, there is a feeling that Inter are developing into a real force once again. The Milan giants have been excellent in Serie A this season, collecting 28 points from their 11 matches to sit second in the table, just one point off champions Juventus.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice in Saturday's 2-1 win at Bologna, meaning that the Belgium international has now managed nine goals in 13 appearances for his new club. That said, the former Manchester United striker is yet to score in his two Champions League appearances this season.
Inter made a poor start to Group F, drawing at home to Slavia Prague on September 17 before losing 2-1 at Barca on October 2. There was real pressure on the team heading into the home clash with Dortmund, where goals from Lautaro Martinez and Antonio Candreva secured a 2-0 win.
The Italian giants will travel to Slavia Prague and host Barca in their two group games after this one, and it does appear that they will be battling Dortmund for second spot in the section.
Inter are actually the last Italian team to win the Champions League having triumphed in 2010; they are without a victory in their last three trips to Germany, though, and have won only two of their last 13 away European fixtures, which is not form that will fill their supporters with too much confidence.
Borussia Dortmund form: DWL
Inter Milan form: DLW
Team News
© Reuters
Paco Alcacer, who has scored 10 times in 12 appearances for club and country this season, came off the bench against Wolfsburg on Saturday as he featured for the first time since the end of September.
It remains to be seen whether the Spain international is thrown straight back into the XI for this match, though, as the German outfit are bound to be cautious due to his recent Achilles issues.
As a result, Marco Reus could lead the line having recovered from a recent injury of his own, but goalkeeper Roman Burki remains a doubt through illness.
Marcel Schmelzer is also out with a hip problem, but Jadon Sancho should return to the starting XI having been an unused substitute on Saturday, while the same can also be said for midfielder Thomas Delaney.
Inter will again be without the services of on-loan Manchester United attacker Alexis Sanchez due to an ankle problem, while Danilo D'Ambrosio remains on the sidelines with a broken toe.
Kwadwo Asamoah is also struggling to overcome a knee problem, but Stefano Sensi should return to the starting XI having overcome a thigh injury which he picked up against Juventus on October 6.
Diego Godin and Candreva were both named on the bench against Bologna on Saturday but should return to the starting XI for this match.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup: Hitz; Hakimi, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro; Delaney, Witsel; Hazard, Brandt, Sancho; Reus
Inter Milan possible starting lineup: Handanovic; Godin, De Vrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Sensi, Brozovic, Barella, Biraghi; Martinez, Lukaku
We say: Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Inter Milan
This game is really tough one to call when considering the quality of both teams. A win for either would be massive, but we are struggling to separate the two sides and are therefore backing a low-scoring draw.
No Data Analysis info
