Fresh from moving top of the Bundesliga table, Borussia Dortmund turn their attentions to the UEFA Champions League as they welcome AS Monaco to the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday (kick-off: 9pm CEST/8pm BST/3pm ET).
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Capitalising on Bayern Munich‘s slips in the last two games, Dortmund have assumed top spot in the Bundesliga standings in scintillating fashion, scoring 11 goals in their last two matches, including four in Saturday’s thrilling comeback win at Bayer Leverkusen after knocking Nuremberg for seven three days earlier. Coach Lucien Favre has a very pleasant selection headache indeed for this game, with youngster Jacob Bruun Larsen among the goals, Marco Reus scoring freely and Jadon Sancho coming off the bench to lay on two goals against Leverkusen and move top of the European assist table. Sancho started the first group game at Club Brugge and though he is yet to start in the league, he way well have done enough to retain a spot in the European starting XI here.
Monaco, semi-finalists in the Champions League in 2016/17, have made a disappointing start to their Ligue 1 campaign, winning just one of their opening eight matches. Last Friday’s 2-0 defeat at St Etienne leaves them 18th in the table, and they were also defeated in their opening Champions League game at home to Atletico Madrid.
This game is sure to stir emotions between the two sets of supporters. The quarter-final first leg between these sides in 2017 was marred by a bomb attack on the Dortmund team bus that forced the game’s postponement and led to the admirable #bedsforawayfans gesture from Dortmund supporters to their Monaco counterparts.
Watch: Enjoy highlights of Dortmund’s 7-0 win over Nuremberg
Probable line-ups
Dortmund: Bürki – Piszczek, Akanji, Diallo, Schmelzer – Witsel, Delaney – Pulisic, Reus (c), Sancho – Alcacer
Absentees: Götze (illness), Toljan (knock), Toprak (thigh)
Coach: Lucien Favre
Monaco: Subasic – Sidibe, Jemerson, Glik, Henrichs – N’Doram – Grandsir, Tielemans, Aholou, Chadli – Falcao (c)
Absentees: Rony Lopes (thigh), Jovetic (calf), Geubbels (thigh)
Coach: Leonardo Jardim
Match stats
- Reus has had a hand in eight goals in his first six Bundesliga matches for the first time in his career. He scored the last time Dortmund faced Monaco.
- Sancho has provided an assist every 25 minutes in the league this season. His total of five is more than Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus and Lionel Messi for Barcelona.
- BVB defender Abdou Diallo spent three seasons at Monaco, including a season on loan at Zulte Waragem, but made just 10 Ligue 1 appearances before signing for Mainz.
- Dortmund have a positive record at home to French teams in Europe (W4, D3, L2).
- Favre presided over two 4-0 wins against Monaco when in charge of former club Nice.
- The principality club have failed to win any of their last nine Champions League matches, including losses in their last three.
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