5 reasons Borussia Dortmund will STILL beat PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League
Borussia Dortmund were already purring in European competition this season but that Edin Terzic's side have now begun to click on the domestic front make the Bundesliga outfit an even more formidable prospect for Round of 16 opponents PSV Eindhoven.
bundesliga.com looks at five reasons BVB will be celebrating their passage through to the last eight of European club football's elite competition...
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1) Strong European home form
Dortmund left Eindhoven with the tie all square as they drew 1-1. Donyell Malen opened the scoring before Luuk De Jong scored from the penalty spot. While Edin Terzić and Co. will have been disappointed not to depart with their noses in front, they can now get their job done in front of their own supporters.
In recent seasons, the Signal Iduna Park has been something of a Champions League fortress. In their previous 19 games on home turf in the competition, they have been beaten on just two occasions. They have defeated some big names, too, with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Inter Milan all leaving North-Rhine Westphalia empty-handed.
They have been particularly hard to beat in more recent times, conceding just twice across their previous seven such fixtures - not even last term's European champions Manchester City could find the back of the net. Coupled with PSV's miserable away form - they have prevailed in just two of their last 19 Champions League matches on their travels - Dortmund will be confident of progressing in familiar territory.
2) Reversal of fortunes
After a difficult end to 2023, Dortmund have shown major improvement at the start of their 2024. They have lost just one of their nine matches this calendar - with 19 goals scored during that run - stands in stark contrast to their six winless matches prior to the international break.
The arrival of former players Nuri Şahin and Sven Bender as assistant coaches, as well as the winter signings of Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen (more on him later), have helped to give the club a big lift, with Sancho's loan return in particular drawing plenty of positive vibes. The latest of which saw the England international bag his first goal since rejoining Dortmund as they beat Werder Bremen 2-1 on Matchday 25.
While Darmstadt and Cologne are struggling at the wrong end of the table, Dortmund dispatched them with ease in their first two matches following the hiatus, recording 3-0 and 4-0 victories respectively. The 3-2 defeat to Hoffenheim on Matchday 23 was the only blip in what has otherwise been an impressive few months.
Watch: Borussia Dortmund - Old familiars back in the fold
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Plenty of Edin Terzić's attacking options have contributed, too, with Julian Brandt, Marco Reus, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Youssoufa Moukoko and Niclas Füllkrug all displaying inspirational touches of match-winning class. PSV will be up against a confident BVB.
3) Dortmund's Dutch connection
PSV may claim that they have something of an inside scoop on their Champions League knockout opponents due to the fact that former Dortmund boss Peter Bosz is currently at the helm of the Dutch side. Yet with BVB currently boasting their own Netherlands duo with a PSV past in Malen and Ian Maatsen, that surely trumps their opponent's hand in this tie.
Malen has been in scintillating form of late - he's scored in all four of his past four appearances - and has taken his season tally to 13 goals in all competitions, which includes Dortmund's opener in the 1-1 first-leg draw at the Philips Stadion. "You can see that we've taken a big step forward since the winter, especially on the ball," the versatile attacker said, in quotes appearing on Dortmund's official website following his fine double in the 3-0 home win against Freiburg on Matchday 21.
The 25-year-old - who previously scored 55 goals in 116 appearances for PSV - will be keen to display his electric technique and penetrating pace against his former side once more.
A one-time PSV youth player, Maatsen made a loan move to Dortmund from Chelsea on 12 January and the temporary transfer looks to have been a masterstroke by the bosses at the Signal Iduna Park. To say the Netherlands U21 international has settled in quickly to his new surroundings would be an understatement. The left-sided full-back has managed a couple of assists in his first eight Bundesliga appearances - one of them for compatriot Malen - while he showed fantastic composure to net his first goal for the club in the 2-0 victory over Union Berlin on Matchday 24 of the Bundesliga.
"He does things outstandingly [well]," BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel said of the January Rookie of the Month after the team's impressive 4-0 win against Cologne last month. "He always wants to have the ball and does things very intelligently, including how he positions himself," Kobel continued. "He always finds the right solutions with the ball. He really wants to win games."
That desire will no doubt be on show when Maatsen lines out to the Champions League music on Wednesday.
4) Plenty of options
Injuries have been a problem for Dortmund throughout this campaign, with almost every first-team player missing some action along the way. Some, such as Sébastien Haller and Felix Nmecha have been unable to have much impact at all due to their lengthy spells on the sidelines.
The good news for Terzić, though, is that he now has close to a full squad to choose from. Haller remains unavailable, but Nmecha is once again in contention, while Gregor Kobel is back between the posts following muscle issues.
Karim Adeyemi has also returned from a long lay-off and appears to be firing once again. The youngster netted a stunning goal against Union, and was Dortmund's hero in the round of 16 last year, netting the only strike of the game at home to Chelsea.
Watch: Adeyemi bags wondergoal as Dortmund beat Union - highlights
There are now numerous selection calls for the coaching staff to make, something of a rarity this term. It is a luxury that they should put to good use, and also means that the game can be affected from the bench should it be required.
5) Experience goes a long way
Simply put, Dortmund are more battle-hardened at this point of the competition than PSV. For example, the Dutch outfit are competing in their first knockout tie in eight seasons, while Dortmund have made it to this stage for a fifth time in the last six campaigns and are making a 12th appearance overall in the Round of 16.
The Bundesliga side also have history on their side in terms of this fixture in European competition. Prior to last week'd first-leg, this pair had met twice previously in the Champions League, doing so in the 2002/03 group stage, when Matthias Sammer's side won 3-1 in Eindhoven (Jan Koller, Tomáš Rosický and Márcio Amoroso with the goals) before a 1-1 draw in Germany. Incidentally, PSV's last competitive game against German opposition resulted in a 6-2 aggregate reverse against Bayern Munich in the 2016/17 Champions League group stage.
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