Borussia Dortmund vs Sturm Graz

Signal Iduna Park is the venue as Borussia Dortmund and Sturm Graz go head-to-head in a ‘David vs Goliath’ UEFA Champions League clash.

Despite squandering a 2-0 halftime cushion in an embarrassing 5-2 defeat at Real Madrid last time out, Borussia Dortmund remain well-positioned in the top-eight race in the Champions League after winning their opening two matches via a combined score of 10-1. Heavily fancied to take three points in their first-ever European encounter against Sturm, Nuri Sahin’s men head into proceedings buoyed by a nine-game winning streak at Signal Iduna Park. ‘Die Borussen’ most recently overturned an early deficit to become the first Bundesliga team to beat RB Leipzig this season (2-1) at the weekend. On top of that, they’ve not lost any of their last 12 Champions League matches on home turf (W8, D4), including a 7-1 thrashing of Celtic on matchday two.

On the other hand, despite residing atop the Austrian Bundesliga standings after a 1-1 home draw against Rapid Vienna at the weekend, Sturm Graz’s European campaign has been an utter disaster. They’ve lost all three Champions League games this season by an aggregate score of 5-1, dampening their hopes of halting Dortmund’s purple patch on home turf. Sturm’s dismal Champions League start forms part of a more ominous ten-game losing streak at Europe’s top table. Their dismal continental form could hit a new low on German soil, where they’ve only avoided defeat once on their four previous visits (D1, L3). As if that’s not concerning enough, the visitors have claimed just two wins on their last 14 European travels (D3, L9).