Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund Preview

Real Madrid welcome Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night for what will be a must-see match in this week’s Champions League action.

Madrid are unbeaten in their last 16 home games in all competitions whilst German opposition  Dortmund are unbeaten away from home in the Champions League this season, so you can expect a great encounter.

Following a devastating 4-1 defeat in Germany, Mourinho’s men will need a historic comeback in order to make the final in London. Unlike their Spanish rivals, Barcelona, Madrid managed to score what could prove to be a critical away goal.

A comeback isn’t impossible, just very unlikely. Madrid will need something special to happen in order to bring back this tie and advance to Wembley.

Quite simply, Los Blancos must match the record for the biggest first-leg victory ever overturned in the UEFA Champions League era. The last team to come back from such a deficit was Deportivo La Courna versus AC Milan back in 2004.

Despite recent reports from newspapers, Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be fit to start for Madrid which is a major boost for the Spanish side, who should also recall Angel Di Maria. Alvaro Arbeloa will return from suspension, which may see Sergio Ramos forced into the centre back position.

Meanwhile, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp will have to make do without the services of  Polish full-back Lukasz Piszczek, who has picked up a muscle injury which could prove costly for the German side.

Prediction

Dortmund cannot afford to sit back and let Madrid come at them, that’s when Ronaldo and co are most lethal. The game ended in a draw when these clubs met earlier in the season at the Bernabeu, so Dortmund will not be intimidated by the atmosphere.

Madrid will be forced to attack from the outset. They have too much attacking talent to not register on the score-sheet.

Furthermore, Mourinho is a tactical maestro, so he’ll have a few  tricks up his sleeve in order to break through the heart of Dortmund’s defence.

Madrid should net a couple, but if they surrender a critical away goal that will take them out of the tie.

My Potential Starting lineups

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

Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, Santana; Blaszczykowski, Bender, Gundogan; Gotze, Lewandowski, Reus

I think the score will be 2-1 Real Madrid but Dortmund will go through winning 5-3 on aggregate.