Nearly five months after breaking Borussia Dortmund hearts in the 2023/24 Champions League final, reigning champions Real Madrid prepare to reignite their rivalry with the German side in a thrilling league phase clash at Santiago Bernabeu.
Last season’s showdown saw Carlo Ancelotti’s squad lift their 15th European Cup while Dortmund were left to rue a series of missed opportunities at Wembley Stadium.
With Los Blancos coming off a surprising loss to Lille, fans will be eager to snap up Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund tickets on Seatsnet.com, anticipating a triumphant response from Ancelotti’s side.
Match Preview
Madrid are synonymous with Champions League glory and have always found a way to rise above adversity.
Last season, their European journey culminated in a record 15th continental crown, where they capitalised on Dortmund’s inability to convert dominance into goals.
On that occasion, they struck twice in the second half to clinch victory. However, the kings of Europe have shown signs of vulnerability in the 2024/25 campaign.
Madrid suffered a rare Champions League group stage/league phase defeat against Lille, marking their first in the competition since May 2023.
A well-timed strike by Jonathan David handed the French side a famous 1-0 win over the reigning champions, shaking the confidence of a side that seemed nearly invincible.
Before that, Madrid started their campaign with a commanding 3-1 victory over Stuttgart.
However, taking three points from two games leaves Los Blancos 17th in the new 36-team table, currently outside the comfort of a seeded knockout spot.
Despite this setback, Ancelotti’s men have displayed their characteristic resilience in La Liga.
In response to the Lille defeat, Madrid bounced back by defeating both Villarreal and Celta Vigo, solidifying their position near the top of the domestic standings.
Their latest triumph against Celta saw them temporarily move level on points with arch-rivals Barcelona, setting the stage for a high-stakes El Clasico showdown.
While Madrid’s impressive 17-month unbeaten run in the Champions League has ended, they remain a fortress at home in European competition.
Not since April 2022 have they lost a Champions League match at the Bernabeu.
However, their defensive record has been shaky, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five continental games at on home turf.
If Dortmund had shown the same ruthless streak against Madrid as they did against Celtic earlier this month, the narrative surrounding their Champions League campaign might have been entirely different.
Nuri Sahin’s men were in scintillating form, hitting seventh heaven as they dismantled Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic with a performance that left fans in awe.
If only they could have mustered a similar display in Madrid, perhaps they’d be heading to the Spanish capital this week with Champions League medals around their necks.
It all started with an early goal from Emre Can, only for Celtic’s Daizen Maeda to equalise soon after. However, instead of letting the momentum slip, Dortmund shifted gears and went on a rampage.
Karim Adeyemi, who has been in blistering form, netted a hat-trick, while Serhou Guirassy and Felix Nmecha added their names to the scoresheet.
Guirassy contributed two of the seven, sealing a result that reminded everyone why Dortmund had been last season’s runners-up.
That emphatic victory over Celtic felt like a declaration of intent from BVB, who seemed to have shed the heartbreak of past near-misses.
Adding to their growing European dominance, Dortmund had already put three unanswered goals past Club Brugge on matchday one.
Sahin’s side now sits comfortably at the top of the expanded 36-team Champions League table, boasting a superior goal difference that sets them apart from the other six teams that have also managed two wins from two games.
However, their European form has been starkly contrasted by their domestic inconsistencies.
While they secured a narrow 2-1 win over St Pauli in the Bundesliga over the weekend, their last two away games have ended in defeat, falling 5-1 to Stuttgart and 2-1 to Union Berlin.
Their shaky results in Germany cast a shadow over their promising continental campaign, as Dortmund’s inability to find consistency on the road could prove costly in their quest for silverware.
Now, an unwanted record looms over their upcoming clash with Madrid.
Dortmund has visited the Santiago Bernabeu seven times without ever managing to secure a win (D2, L5).
No other team has gone winless in their first eight Champions League visits to a single away venue, and Sahin’s men are dangerously close to setting this unfortunate milestone.
Key Stats
Madrid will head into their upcoming encounter with Dortmund in the Champions League with a strong historical advantage.
The Spanish giants have won seven out of 14 matches played between the two teams in Europe’s premier club competition, with Dortmund managing just three victories.
The last meeting between these two football powerhouses came in the Champions League final last season, with Los Blancos claiming a comfortable 2-0 victory at Wembley Stadium.
A closer look at Dortmund’s performances away from home against Madrid paints a bleak picture for the German side.
Bernabeu has been an impenetrable fortress for Der BVB as they’re yet to taste victory in seven visits. Their most recent trip to Madrid in 2017 ended in a 3-2 defeat, despite a valiant effort.
Team News
Madrid are gearing up for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Dortmund, facing a mixed bag of injury news.
Kylian Mbappe recently recovered from a muscular injury, but the French superstar finds himself embroiled in off-pitch controversy, having been named as a suspect in an alleged rape case in Sweden.
Despite this legal cloud, Mbappe’s return adds firepower to Madrid’s squad, which is already missing key players.
Defenders Dani Carvajal and David Alaba remain sidelined due to knee injuries, with Lucas Vazquez expected to hold down the fort at right back.
On the left side of the defence, Ancelotti may opt to start Ferland Mendy, with Fran Garcia potentially dropping to the bench. In attack, Rodrygo could force his way back into the starting line-up, possibly at the expense of Eduardo Camavinga, as Madrid looks to fine-tune their strategy.
For Dortmund, they’ll be without Adeyemi, who netted a hat-trick against Celtic.
The German forward suffered a hamstring injury that’ll keep him out until late November.
His absence adds to Dortmund’s growing injury list, which includes Julien Duranville (thigh), Giovanni Reyna (groin), and Yan Couto (muscle).
Pascal Gross and Niklas Sule are also in doubt for Tuesday’s game, with Gross having been substituted at half-time during Dortmund’s recent win over St Pauli.
Real Madrid potential starting line-up:
(4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy; Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde; Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior.
Borussia Dortmund potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Gregor Kobel; Julian Ryerson, Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini; Emre Can, Marcel Sabitzer; Donyell Malen, Julian Brandt, Jaimie Bynoe-Gittens; Serhou Guirassy.
