Both searching for their first Champions League Group F win at the second attempt, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan pit their wits against one another at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.
Edin Terzic’s men fell to a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on matchday one, while the Rossoneri were left to rue a string of wasted chances in a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
With the walls of the Parc des Princes fortress coming under siege in 2023, a handful of teams have walked away from PSG’s turf with famous wins to write home about, but Dortmund were unable to join that exclusive club as they succumbed to Les Parisiens’ superiority a fortnight ago.
Just four minutes into the second half, Niklas Sule’s handball presented Kylian Mbappe with the opportunity to stroke home from 12 yards, before former Dortmund wing-back Achraf Hakimi condemned his old employers to an opening two-goal defeat before the hour mark.
Defeat in the French capital snapped a 13-game unbeaten run across all competitions for BVB, who occupy last place in the Group F rankings with plenty of continental football left to be played, and they have responded to their opening Champions League setback with a pair of Bundesliga triumphs over Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim.
Despite a foolish red card to Ramy Bensebaini against Hoffenheim, as the left-back kicked the ball away while already on a yellow, Niclas Fullkrug’s maiden BVB goal, Marco Reus’s improvised effort and a sensational solo run from Julian Ryerson prolonged Dortmund’s unbeaten streak domestically, putting them fourth in the fledgling Bundesliga table.
However, with Andrej Kramaric also making the net ripple from 12 yards, Dortmund welcome Milan to their turf with just one clean sheet to boast from their last six contests, although home shut-outs are commonplace in the Champions League; the German giants have shipped just one goal in their last five continental games at Signal Iduna Park.
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.
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
We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 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.
