BVB must win at the Bosporus?

Borussia Dortmund have been lucky in the draw for this season’s Champions League group stage. In a pool with Besiktas Istanbul, Sporting Lisbon and Ajax Amsterdam, a place in the last 16 is basically a must. Marco Rose’s team will also be aiming for a treble in their group opener in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The Westphalians have won all their games against Turkish clubs in the Champions League so far, although the opponents have always been Galatasaray, but the flight to the Bosporus is at least not a journey into the unknown for BVB. Only against teams from the Czech Republic does Borussia still have a clean slate.

As Turkish champions, the Eagles are celebrating their comeback in the top flight after three years. Incidentally, the last home game was in March 2018, also with a match against a German club, namely Bayern Munich. At that time, the team lost 1:3 and this year, too, the forecast between Besiktas Istanbul and Dortmund goes in the direction of a victory for the visitors.

Dortmund are regulars in the top flight and usually manage to get through the group stage. BVB is one of the big players on the European stage and wants to live up to this role in this pool.

Turkey Besiktas – Statistics & current form

The Champions League is of course a nice perk. Having left the local competition on the Bosphorus behind in the Turkish championship is the moment when the Eagles have already felt great joy and satisfaction. That’s why the focus is on the Süper Lig, although progressing in the top flight is also high on the list of priorities.

The Eagles’ solid defence

There’s no question that it will be tough. After all, the Eagles have only won one of their last ten home games in the Champions League and lost both duels against German teams (Bayern and Wolfsburg). Therefore, the odds on a win for the visitors in the match between Besiktas Istanbul and Dortmund should probably be the better choice.

However, Sergen Yalcin’s side have made a strong start to the new season and have picked up ten points from their four games on points and have not conceded a single goal At the weekend, two goals from ex-Dortmund player Michy Batshuayi and a strike from Georges N’Koudou led to a clear 3-0 home victory over Yeni Malatyaspor.

In terms of personnel, however, it looks like Sergen Yalcin will have to do without numerous players on Wednesday. The absences of Alex Teixeira and Domagoj Vida in particular are relatively serious. Georges N’Koudou is injured, but will probably be able to play. Atiba Hutchinson is a conceivable option on the double six next to Miralem Pjanic.

Predicted line-up of Besiktas:
Destanoglu – Rosier, Welinton, Monteiro, N’Sakala – Pjanic, Souza – Ghezzal, Larin, N’Koudou – Batshuayi – Coach: Yalcin

Germany Dortmund – Statistics & current form

Borussia Dortmund’s strength, and that is completely unquestionable, is in their attack. However, Erling Haaland and Co. will not be able to permanently conceal the deficits in defence, and so Marco Rose’s primary task is to give his back line stability. At the latest when Mats Hummels is fully fit again, this problem should be somewhat less of a problem.

Goal-hungry Borussians

The Black and Yellows have started very well in the Bundesliga, apart from the defeat in Freiburg. Nine points after four matchdays mean third place at the moment. In addition, Dortmund, together with Bayern, have scored the most goals with 13 goals each It sounds as if a prediction of more than 2.5 goals between Besiktas Istanbul and Dortmund is plausible.

Last weekend there was a football festival at the guest game in Leverkusen. Alternating leads and numerous goals made the game attractive. Although BVB was trailing 1:0, 2:1 and 3:2, Borussia won 4:3 in the end. Erling Haaland, Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro first equalised the arrears before Haaland again scored the winning goal on a penalty kick.

Incidentally, the Norwegian is the most effective striker ever in the history of the Champions League, scoring every 63 minutes in the top flight. Erling Haaland will also be the player to watch on Wednesday when Dortmund will be without Emre Can, Soumaila Coulibaly, Mateu Morey, Giovanni Reyna, Nico Schulz, Steffen Tigges and Dan-Axel Zagadou.

Predicted Dortmund line-up:
Kobel – Meunier, Pongracic, Akanji, Guerreiro – Dahoud – Bellingham, Reus; Brandt – Malen, Haaland – Coach: Rose

Besiktas – Dortmund Direct comparison / H2H-balance

It’s been a very long time since Besiktas Istanbul and Borussia Dortmund crossed paths in the European Cup. That was even a few years before the Champions League was introduced. In the 1989/90 season, the two teams faced each other in the first round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in a first and second leg.

At the time, Dortmund won both matches by a narrow margin In Turkey, Borussia won the first leg 1-0, while the return match at the Westfalenstadion was also a tight affair. Martin Driller and Jürgen Wegman scored for BVB. Ali Gültiken equalised for the Eagles in between. Incidentally, today’s sporting director Michael Zorc was still on the pitch as captain for the Black and Yellows back then.

Besiktas – Dortmund United Kingdom Tip

For BVB, it’s basically about starting the Champions League with a win and picking up in the top flight where they last left off in the Bundesliga, even if the officials would like to take a win without much of a spectacle. However, Besiktas is a tough opponent.

The Turks have yet to concede a goal this season and are top of the Süper Lig with ten points from four games.

We can also imagine placing a bet on a goal from the Champions League’s most effective goalscorer. A goal from Erling Haaland would do BVB good. With or without a goal from the attacker, the Westphalians should win. We have decided to play between Besiktas Istanbul and Dortmund with betting odds on the Black and Yellows.

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