Borussia Dortmund v Paris Saint-Germain Preview, Predicted XI, Team News and more | Champions League 2019-20
Tomas Tuchel returns to Signal Iduna Park as Paris Saint-Germain coach, not just looking to send his former side packing but also put the round-of-16 demons to sleep in what is mooted to be an enthralling contest between two remarkable attacking outfits.
Both sides have surely set their sights on respective domestic league titles, but while Borussia Dortmund face stiff competition from RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and even, mathematically at least, Borussia Monchengladbach, PSG's long-term desire to taste Champions League glory seems to overpower their Ligue 1 interests.
Rightly so, with a 13-point lead at the top of the ladder, they should be aiming to quench their abiding thirst at the European level. A 4-4 draw against Amiens, where the likes of Marco Verratti, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were rested with one eye on the forthcoming UCL fixture, indicated the same.
It's surely going down to which of the two stands out as the better attacking outfit. Dortmund have netted 63 goals from 22 Bundesliga matches, whereas PSG have set the field ablaze with 67 of them in 25.
On that note, we bring everything you need to know ahead of the first leg of BVB v PSG.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG Head-to-head
Borussia Dortmund wins: 0
PSG wins: 0
Draws: 2
Borussia Dortmund v PSG Form Guide
Last 5 matches (in all competitions)
Borussia Dortmund: W-L-L-W-W
PSG: D-W-W-W-W
Borussia Dortmund v PSG Team News
Borussia Dortmund
The hosts will dearly miss Julian Brandt - who was starting to grow into his Dortmund shirt since the turn of the year - owing to an ankle ligament tear. The same goes with skipper Marco Reus, while Thomas Delaney also continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines.
However, the creativity of Thorgan Hazard and Jadon Sancho will be blooded into a certain Erling Haaland's channel, with new signing Emre Can set to run the tempo from midfield.
PSG
Tuchel rested two of his three star forwards in a 4-2-2-2 shape against Amiens, and while they notched four goals past their opponents, the midfield structure remained far from ideal.
Neymar, Verratti, Marquinhos and wonderkid Mbappe are all poised to return with fresh, rested legs.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG Predicted XI
Borussia Dortmund (3-4-3): Roman Burki; Łukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Dan-Axel Zagadou; Raphael Guerreiro, Emre Can, Axel Witsel, Achraf Hakimi; Thorgan Hazard, Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho
PSG (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Thomas Meunier, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Layvin Kurzawa; Marco Verratti, Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes; Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi, Neymar Jr.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG Match Prediction
Always a hard one to predict this stage of the Champions League, but Dortmund's erratic defence may take a real testing against the pacy, intelligent duo of Neymar and Mbappe.
Quite visibly against Leverkusen, the likes of Guerreiro and Akanji were left exposed. And with Lucien Favre expected to field three at the back, the centre-halves might be stretched more than they'd prefer in a system where full-backs venture forward more often than not.
PSG should win this one - a potential goal-fest.
Predicted score: Borussia Dortmund 2-3 PSG