Back on track in the Bundesliga, but still in debt in Europe. After only one point from two Champions League games so far, Borussia Dortmund is doomed to win. A defeat on Wednesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) at Newcastle United could block the path to the planned round of 16 early on.
But the upward trend with five league successes recently gives us courage for the difficult task. “We’ve eaten a bit of food,” commented Sebastian Kehl, full of hope for a turnaround in BVB’s favor in Group F. The sports director expects a passionate duel with plenty of noise from the stands and a lot of passion on the pitch: “It’s going to be really exciting .”
With all due respect to the up-and-coming “Magpies”, who are supported by Saudi Arabia, the anticipation of the bubbling St. James’ Park outweighs the anticipation of the fourth-place team in the Bundesliga. “The atmosphere there is crazy,” enthused goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, “this is a disgusting team that always gives full throttle.” The former Liverpool professional (2014 to 2018) and current BVB captain Emre Can knows from his own experience what Borussia expects in Newcastle: “It won’t be easy to play football there. But we are Dortmund, we have to be broad-chested “Go there and try to win the game.”
Full-back Ryerson is out
After the 2-0 draw in Paris and the 0-0 draw against AC Milan, Borussia’s senses should be sharpened. “This is the next competition in which we want to do something well,” said Edin Terzic, pointing out the small gap: “They are first, but only three points away from us. You can see how close everything is together in this group is” in the group assessed as difficult.”
The new philosophy (“less sexy, more success”) announced by the football teacher after the game against Bremen (1-0) should also help Newcastle to close the gap in the table. However, the short-term absence of full-back Julian Ryerson, who is ill and is known to be a strong fighter, will make the task more difficult. The coach left it open as to who should replace him: “Now someone else will have the chance to show how important he is to our team.”
“We saw what Newcastle are capable of against Paris,” warned Terzic, referring to the English team’s clear 4-1 win in their last home game, when coach Eddie Howe’s team beat the star ensemble from France around Kylian, who were considered group favorites Mbappé demonstrated at times. Like the coach, captain Can is also hoping for a better away game for Borussia than in the group opener in Paris: “We didn’t show a good performance there. But on Wednesday we have another chance to show that we have taken a step forward. We want to Win the game and have a lot of self-confidence at the moment.”
Bad BVB record against English clubs
It’s just a good thing that the form curve of many Dortmund professionals is currently clearly pointing upwards. This could help avert a knockout in the premier class after the group stage, as was the case in the 2021/22 season. Problem children such as newcomer Felix Nmecha and convalescent Giovanni Reyna also indicated clear progress in last Friday’s victory against Bremen. “We are in good shape, have hardly any injuries and have gained stability. That’s why we are in a position to get something there,” said Kehl.
However, the previous record in duels in England is not encouraging. Eleven of 16 guest games were lost. Table 6 also applies. the Premier League is also strong at home at international level. Newcastle’s last defeat at St. James’ Park was against Deportivo La Coruna in 2006. Since then there have been ten wins and five draws. Nevertheless, BVB goalkeeper Kobel set the tone: “There’s no question about it, we have to take something with us.”