Champions League Preview: Borussia Dortmund -v- Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain at Reale Arena on March 05, 2024 in San Sebastian, Spain. Credit: Photo by Juanma - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain go head-to-head in the first leg of the second Champions League semi-final this evening.
Last night Bayern and Real Madrid played out a 2-2 draw in the first semi-final first leg in Munich but tonight the action moves to elsewhere in Germany.
The home side are unbeaten in their last ten home games when it comes to the Champions League and have picked up six wins in those ten matches.
Dortmund overcame Atlético Madrid in the last eight, with Marcel Sabitzer’s goal proving crucial help as die Schwarzgelben advanced into the last four of the competition, ending an 11-year wait for a place in the semi-final.
The two teams have already met in this season’s competition. PSG won in Paris when they hosted BVB earlier in the group stages and then managed to pick up a point in Germany. In the last five meetings between the pair, Dortmund have only won one, with the Parisians collecting maximum points on two occasions.
They will also be riding high on momentum after winning their 12th Ligue 1 title over the weekend and will be looking to add to Dortmund’s woes after the Germans suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of RB Leipzig.
Mats Hummels is due to make an appearance, despite the centre-back being forced off against RB Leipzig over the weekend. Emre Can and Ian Maatsen are in line for a return after serving their domestic suspensions.
You can expect Kylian Mbappe to be back in the PSG starting XI after he was named on the bench last weekend. Mbappe looks like a man hell-bent on winning the Champions League before he leaves the French giants this summer and you can bet that motivation and the fact that the French champions have never won the competition will help drive him and his teammates on over the course of the two legs.
Luis Enrique’s men will also be missing the influence of Layvin Kurzawa & Sergio Rico, with the former not travelling to Germany with the squad.
Dortmund need something to take to Paris next week. But the start-studded attack PSG boast should be too much to handle.
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 1 - 2 Paris Saint-Germain
