Overview
Borussia Dortmund continues their Champions League campaign this season in the context of being 14th in the rankings, with the goal of at least consolidating their position or moving higher.
The Bundesliga side have picked up seven points from their opening four rounds, including two wins, one draw and one loss. However, the defense is still a big concern, as Dortmund have scored 13 goals but conceded 11 since the beginning of the tournament.
Their most recent trip to Europe ended with a heavy 1-4 defeat to Manchester City, with only one consoling goal by Waldemar Anton. However, the bright spot is that Dortmund have scored in all matches in all competitions this season.
In the Bundesliga, the team that reached the 2023-2024 Champions League final is currently in third place but is still having difficulty catching up with Bayern Munich at the top of the table. Their most recent domestic match was a dramatic chase, ending in a 3-3 draw against VfB Stuttgart.
Niko Kovac will now look for answers from his players when they return home in the upcoming European match. Especially when facing Villarreal - a team that promises to create many difficulties, despite recent decline in performance.
Villarreal are going through a disappointing Champions League campaign, having not won any of their opening 4 matches and only having 1 point.
Currently, the "Golden Submarine Boat" is near the bottom of the table after 3 losses and 1 draw. Their journey to Europe began with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, thanks to an own goal by Luiz Junior, before a 2-2 draw with Juventus.
After that, Villarreal continued to lose 0-2 to Manchester City and 0-1 to Pa fos, allowing them to only score 2 goals and conceded 6 times in the tournament.
Despite difficulties in Europe, Villarreal still played impressively in the domestic arena. Under the leadership of Marcelino, this team is currently third in La Liga, after Real Madrid and Barcelona, with a stable performance of 5 wins in the last 6 matches in all competitions.
They head into the upcoming match after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Mallorca, with Gerard Moreno and tani Oluwaseyi scoring. Marcelino hopes that the confidence he has in La Liga will spread and help Villarreal regain their form on the European stage.
Personnel situation
For the home team, the big concern is still the defense as both Niklas Sule and Ramy Bensebaini continue to be out. Sule is struggling with a toe injury, significantly affecting his mobility, while Bensebaini is expected to return only next week.
Up front, Serhou Guirassy will continue to lead, while Jobe Bellingham and Felix Nmecha are expected to bring energy and the ability to control the midfield.
On the Villarreal side, this team will be without Will Kambwala and Pau Cabanes due to injury, while Manor Solomon is still unable to play due to back injury.
The good news for Marcelino is that Georges Mikautadze has returned to the squad, and he will continue to put his faith in the players who have had positive results recently. Renato Veiga and Rafa Marin are likely to continue playing centre-back, while Thomas Partey could pair up with Santi Comesana in midfield.
Up front, Gerard Moreno, who has scored in both of his last two appearances, will start alongside Tani Oluwaseyi, continuing the task of scoring for the Spanish team.
Expected lineup:
Dortmund: Kobel, Anton, Can, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson, Nmecha, Bellingham, Beier, Adeyemi, Chukwuemeka, Guirassy.
Villarreal: Junior, Alfonso, Veiga, Marin, Navarro, Moleiro, Partey, Comesana, Buchanan, Oluwaseyi, Moreno.
The match between Dortmund and Villarreal takes place at 3:00 am on November 26 (Vietnam time).
