Prediction: Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund



Verdict: Home win

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: William Hill

Having made an important step towards the La Liga trophy by denying Barcelona victory at Camp Nou, Real Madrid will be looking to secure the first place in their Champions League group on Wednesday evening. Borussia Dortmund are aware they will remain in first place even with a draw at Santiago Bernabeu, but they cannot afford to sit back and wait for los Blancos to throw everything they’ve got at them.

Real Madrid

Even if they went all the way to lift the Champions League trophy last season, it is fair to say that Real Madrid have been showing even more consistency this term. For the first time in quite a while, los Blancos have emerged as main candidates for the La Liga trophy, and they did well to keep the six-point advantage over Barca intact. Captain Sergio Ramos again came to the rescue, scoring a last-gasp goal to secure a 1-1 draw, which will ensure that Real Madrid players head into the Borussia Dortmund clash in high spirits. The 3-3 draw in Warsaw could prove costly for los Blancos, who will finish second in their group unless they can defeat the Millionaires, so no doubts the hosts will be very motivated to prove their worth against German giants. Oddly enough, Real Madrid did not exactly impress in matches against so-called smaller sides, but they hammered Atletico Madrid 3-0 on the road and shared spoils with Barcelona at Camp Nou, which is enough to suggest that the team are finally showing the character needed to achieve big things. And even though the likes of Bale and Kroos have been missed, their replacements have done a pretty good job so far.

Team News

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro made a long-awaited comeback in El Clasico and he could return to the starting line-up at Mateo Kovacic’s expense.

Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos continue to miss out, but Alvaro Morata, Danilo and Fabio Coentrao have all resumed full training.



Borussia Dortmund

With Bayern Munich constantly poaching their best players, Borussia Dortmund have failed to keep up with their bitter rivals over the last couple of years, and they currently sit six points behind the Bavarians in the Bundesliga standings. However, it is clear that this team have got loads of potential and if the Millionaires just manage to keep their star players at Signal-Iduna Park for few more years, they will have a very good chance to return to old glory days. Having said that, the youthful side have already shown plenty of potential, as witnessed by their Champions League performances, but it is clear that the likes of Dembele, Pulisic, Bartra, Weigl and Mor will need some more first team experience before they can be relied on to carry this team forward. While they are slowly maturing, red-hot Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and fit-again Marco Reus have been pulling the strings, whereas Germany internationals Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle are trying to get their respective careers back on track. The Millionaires have shown improvement with the return of Marco Reus, but their back line has been far from impressive of late, so they may come short in an attempt to prevent Real Madrid from winning.

Team News

Thomas Tuchel faces a genuine selection headache considering that Roman Burki, Raphael Guerreiro, Nuri Sahin, Sven Bender, Neven Subotic, Shinji Kagawa and Mikel Merino are all out injured.

Key Factors to Consider

• Real Madrid won four of last five home games vs Dortmund (D1)
• Los Blancos scored two goals or more in each of those matches
• Dortmund failed to score in last two visits at Santiago Bernabeu (L2)
• Real Madrid won five straight home games, scoring 18 goals
• Dortmund lost 3 of last 7 away games in the Champions League

Conclusion

Real Madrid are flying high after the 1-1 draw with Barcelona and they appear to have stabilised their form of late. With several players back in contention, los Blancos look a good bet to record yet another win over Dortmund at the Bernabeu. The Millionaires have been showing signs of improvement of late, but they have a number of important absentees and are not in the best possible form.

Verdict: Home win

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: William Hill