Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid have already assumed control of Group A, and a win for either on matchday three would put them within sight of a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.
• Both teams have six points having beaten Club Brugge and Monaco. Dortmund hold the advantage with a goal difference of one better than their Spanish opponents.
Previous meetings
• The sides have met in four previous matches, most recently in the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League group stage when each sides recorded an away victory. Dortmund were 1-0 winners in Spain before a 2-1 Atlético success in Germany; the pair finished level on 13 points, Atlético winning the section ahead of Dortmund on head-to-head record. It was the German club, however, who would go on to lift the trophy that season, beating Juventus in the final; Atlético were eliminated by Ajax in the quarter-finals.
• Dortmund came out on top in the 1965/66 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final between the teams, following a 1-1 draw in Spain with a 1-0 home victory. One again, the German side went on to win the trophy.
Form guide
Dortmund
• Lucian Favre’s side were 3-0 victors against Monaco in their first home Group A game, on matchday two, having opened the section with a 1-0 win at Club Brugge.
• Fourth in last season’s Bundesliga, the German club are in the group stage for the third season running, and the seventh time in eight years – in their 2017/18 campaign they picked up only two points from their six fixtures. They went on to reach the UEFA Europa League round of 16, losing to Salzburg.
• Despite the wins against Club Brugge and Monaco, Dortmund have won only three of their last 13 UEFA Champions League fixtures (D3 L7).
• The German club picked up only one point at home in last season’s group stage, and were without a win in four UEFA Champions League matches in Dortmund (D1 L3) before beating Monaco.
• The 3-2 home win against Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg was Dortmund’s only European victory last season; they have now won two of their last seven European home matches (D1 L4).
• Dortmund’s record at home to Spanish clubs is W7 D4 L3 – one of those defeats coming in the most recent encounter, Real Madrid’s 3-1 success in last season’s UEFA Champions League group stage. That ended Dortmund’s five-match unbeaten run (W4 D1) at home to Spanish clubs.
• BVB’s last eight games against Spanish sides have all pitted them against Real Madrid; they won only two of those contests, and none of the last four (D2 L2).
Atlético
• Diego Simeone’s side were 3-1 winners at home to Club Brugge on matchday two having won their opening fixture at Monaco 2-1.
• Those results mean Atlético have won their last five European games, and have lost only one of their last 16 matches in continental competition (W11 D4).
• Atlético have lost only one of their last eight European away games, winning three.
• A 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg ended Atlético’s three-match losing run in Germany.
• UEFA Champions League finalists in 2014 and 2016, and semi-finalists two seasons ago, Atlético won only one game in the 2017/18 competition, drawing four including all three away, to finish behind Roma and Chelsea in their section.
• However, Los Rojiblancos then moved into the UEFA Europa League, winning their first five matches. They lost only one of nine overall and defeated Marseille 3-0 in the Lyon final.
• Atlético have already lifted European silverware this season, beating Real Madrid 4-2 in August’s UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn – making them the first team to win the competition on their first three appearances.
• The Rojiblancos have reached two UEFA Champions League and three UEFA Europa League finals in the last nine seasons.
Links and trivia
• Atlético’s Thomas Lemar provided three assists in Monaco’s 6-3 aggregate win against Dortmund in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Shinji Kagawa and Marco Reus were among the German club’s scorers.
• Have played in Spain:
Paco Alcácer (Valencia 2009–16, Getafe 2012/13 loan, Barcelona 2016–18)
Sergio Gómez (Barcelona 2017/18)
Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid 2016–18)
• International team-mates:
Raphäel Guerreiro & Gelson Martins (Portugal)
Paco Alcácer & Saúl Ñíguez, Koke, Diego Costa, Rodri, Juanfran, Vitolo (Spain)
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