Borussia Dortmund v Galatasaray: Hosts receive welcome distraction

Borussia Dortmund will welcome the distraction of UEFA Champions League football again as their Bundesliga woes continue.

Jurgen Klopp’s side – who host Galatasaray on Tuesday – lost their fifth league match in a row on Saturday, going down 2-1 at champions and fierce rivals Bayern Munich.

Dortmund, who have won just one point in their last seven league matches, were the better side in the first half and took the lead through Marco Reus, only for former striker Robert Lewandowski to come back to haunt them.

Lewandowski’s equaliser was followed by an Arjen Robben winner from the penalty spot with five minutes to play as Dortmund’s surprisingly poor start continued, leaving them 17 points off top spot in the German top flight.

The Champions League has given Klopp’s men some brief respite from their domestic struggles, and they have played their best football of the campaign in the competition.

Three wins from as many Group D matches has Dortmund on top of the pool and a victory against the Super Lig outfit would guarantee their spot in the competition’s last 16.

Dortmund were at their counter-attacking best in a 4-0 win at Galatasaray last month – a victory they hoped would be the catalyst for an upturn in league form.

But Klopp felt his side “buckled to the pressure” in the second half against Bayern – hardly a glowing endorsement of his charges.

Dortmund have scored nine goals without conceding in the group stage but will be without Mats Hummels, who suffered an injury to his troublesome foot against Bayern.

The last time they started a Champions League group stage with three wins from as many matches, they went on to win the competition in 1997.

Oliver Kirch and Jakub Blaszczykowski (both thigh) are back in training but Marcel Schmelzer (hand) and Nuri Sahin (knee) are set to miss again.

Galatasaray, bottom of the pool with just one point from three matches, have won five of their 13 matches in Germany in UEFA competition.

They have lost their last four Champions League road trips, though.

The Turkish giants will go into the match on the back of a victory – Umut Bulut’s first goal of the season, scored in extra time, giving them a 2-1 win over Kasimpasa on Friday.

Felipe Melo (thigh) missed out on the clash and is likely to sit on the sidelines again.