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Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid

Sports Mole previews the first leg of the Champions League semi-final clash between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in Germany.

Borussia Dortmund will hope to secure a first-leg advantage when they welcome Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The German outfit needed two late goals to overcome Malaga in the previous round, while Madrid survived a second-leg comeback from Galatasaray to book their spot in the final four of the competition.

The two sides were paired in the group stages of the Champions League this season, with Dortmund winning the home match 2-1 before gaining a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu in the beginning of November.

If that pattern of results follows this time around, then Dortmund would advance to the final at Wembley where they would face either Bayern Munich or Barcelona, who clash on Tuesday.

Both teams have been second best in their domestic campaigns this season, however, with Dortmund trailing Bayern by 20 points in the Bundesliga table, while Madrid sit 13 behind Barcelona in La Liga.

The home side have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match, although one from Mats Hummels, Felipe Santana and Neven Subotic will miss out in central defence. Nuri Sahin is also expected to gain a start, with Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus forming the attacking pair.

Madrid, meanwhile, have injury concerns over Luka Modric and Marcelo, who both limped out of their 3-1 win over Real Betis in La Liga at the weekend.

Alvaro Arbeloa is also struggling, but Fabio Coentrao should be fit to start. Diego Lopez is once more expected to be given the nod ahead of Iker Casillas between the sticks, while Karim Benzema should also start up front.

Recent form:

Dortmund: DWWWW
Madrid: WWLWW

Possible lineups:

Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Hummels, Santana, Schmelzer; Blaszczykowski, Gotze, Gundogan, Sahin; Reus, Lewandowski

Madrid: Lopez; Arbeloa; Ramos, Varane, Coentrao; Ozil, Alonso, Khedira; Ronaldo, Benzema, Di Maria

Sports Mole says: 2-2


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3GironaGirona29195559342562
4Athletic Bilbao29168550262456
5Atletico MadridAtletico29174854342055
6Real Sociedad291210742311146
7Real BetisBetis29101273433142
8Valencia28117103232040
9Villarreal29108114751-438
10Getafe2991193742-538
11Las PalmasLas Palmas29107122932-337
12Osasuna29106133343-1036
13AlavesAlaves2988132635-932
14Mallorca29612112535-1030
15Rayo Vallecano29611122538-1329
16Sevilla29610133644-828
17Celta Vigo2969143244-1227
18CadizCadiz29313132040-2022
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20Almeria29110182857-2913

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