Borussia Dortmund host Inter Milan in Champions League Group F play on Tuesday night at Signal Iduna Park. The match will be a significant one in the group as both clubs are locked on four points apiece.
Inter Milan go into the match with the upper hand in Group F thanks to a head to head victory over Borussia Dortmund on matchday 3 at the San Siro. The Nerazzurri defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 thanks to goals on either side of halftime.
Antonio Conte’s team can take a big step toward qualification to the knockout round with an away win. That will be far harder than it appears on paper as Borussia Dortmund will have their home support and the Yellow Wall behind them on Tuesday night.
Borussia Dortmund head into the weekend in second place in the Bundesliga. The yellow and black won at the weekend defeating Wolfsburg 3-0. After a domestic blip, Lucien Favre’s team has recovered and are playing good football.
Favre’s team is unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 matches in all competitions. That one loss, however, came at the hands of Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Inter Milan are on a five-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Four of those five matches ended in victories for the Nerazzurri including Saturday’s 2-1 win over Bologna courtesy of two Romelu Lukaku goals. Inter are now second in Serie A and one point behind leaders Juventus.
Favre rested key attacking player Jadon Sancho on Saturday against Wolfsburg. The English international is set to return to the Borussia Dortmund starting XI. Favre will curse his luck as captain Marco Reus went down with another injury at the weekend.
Reus was removed from the match against Wolfsburg after just 30 minutes with a foot issue. The injury may not be serious, but it is unlikely Reus will play a part against Inter Milan.
While Inter Milan have been slightly reliant on Belgian striker Lukaku on the peninsula, nine goals in 24 matches, he has not scored in the Champions League this term. The Nerazzurri’s four goals have come from Nicolo Barella, Lautaro Martinez (two), and Antonio Candreva.
Lukaku will be considered Inter Milan’s dangerman on Tuesday night and Borussia Dortmund’s defence could be bullied by him.
A lot is riding on this fixture as both clubs must play Group F leaders Barcelona before the knockout round begins. Both should play Tuesday night’s match defensively and set out not to lose the game.
Like their previous meeting, expect under 2.5 goals as Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan play a scoreless draw in Germany.