Borussia Dortmund secured qualification for the season's UEFA Champions League group stage after finishing in second place in the German Bundesliga while PSV Eindhoven had to work their way through the qualifying rounds, dispatching the likes of Sturm Graz and Rangers to reach the group stages.
The 2023/2024 UEFA Champions League group stage draw placed Borussia Dortmund in Group F alongside Newcastle United, AC Milan, and French champions Paris Saint-Germain while PSV Eindhoven were drawn in Group B with the likes of Arsenal, RC Lens and Sevilla.
Borussia Dortmund kicked off their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in the worst way possible, falling to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in their first match. Despite holding firm in the first half, Dortmund eventually had their defense broken four minutes after the interval as Niklas Sule was penalized for handling the ball in the box, and Kylian Mbappe stepped up to thump home from the spot.
Borussia Dortmund conceded a second in the 58th minute, Achraf Hakimi's neat interchange of passes with Vitinha carved the Dortmund defense wide open before the right-back executed a cool finish. Borussia Dortmund were lucky to get a point from their second group stage match against a wasteful AC Milan side, the match ended in a goalless draw.
Borussia Dortmund's first win of the group stages came against Newcastle United at St. James' Park as they emerged 1-0 victors from what was a thrilling contest. Dortmund grabbed their goal on the 45th-minute mark after a quick counter saw Nico Schlotterbeck cut the ball back for Felix Nmecha whose superb first-time finish flew beyond Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal into the back of the net.
Another 2-0 win for Borussia Dortmund in the reverse fixture against Newcastle United increased their chances of qualification from the group. Goals in each half from Niclas Füllkrug and Julian Brandt respectively were enough to secure all three points for Dortmund. A 3-1 win against AC Milan was followed by a 1-1 stalemate against Paris Saint-Germain in their final group stage match was enough to see Dortmund finish top of group F and earn their place in the knockout rounds.
PSV Eindhoven suffered a nightmare start to their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign as they were condemned to a 4-0 thrashing by Arsenal in their first game. Bukayo Saka fired Arsenal into the lead in the 8th minute before setting up Leandro Trossard to drill a superb effort beyond the reach of Walter Benitez in the PSV goal with Gabriel Jesus adding a third before the interval as his brilliant first touch enabled him to bring down Trossard's deep cross before smashing his shot into the back of the net. Martin Odegaard added to PSV Eindhoven's misery in the 70th minute, blasting home a wonderful strike from range. PSV Eindhoven fared better against Sevilla in their second group stage match and they contested a thrilling 2-2 encounter against their Spanish opponents.
After a goalless first half, it was Sevilla who went ahead in the 68th minute courtesy of Nemanja Gudelj's volleyed effort. Luuk de Jong equalized for PSV from the spot in the 86th minute however, Youssef En-Nesyri immediately put Sevilla back in the lead before Jordan Teze leveled matters for PSV once again in the 5th minute of stoppage time.
PSV Eindhoven played out another stalemate in their third group stage match, this time a 1-1 draw against RC Lens. Johan Bakayoko fired PSV into the lead in the 54th minute of the game before Elye Wahi restored parity in the 65th minute.
PSV got their first win in the reverse fixture against RC Lens as Luuk de Jong's 12th-minute header off Johan Bakayoko's inswinging cross proved to be enough to secure a 1-0 victory. An impressive 3-2 come-back win against Sevilla gave PSV Eindhoven hope of progressing to the knockout rounds. Sergio Ramos put Sevilla in front in the 24th minute before En-Nesyri doubled Sevilla's lead immediately after the restart however, goals from Ismael Saibari and Ricardo Pepi either side of Nemanja Gudelj's own goal saw PSV overturn a two-goal deficit to emerge with the win. A 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the final group stage match was enough to secure a second-place finish and qualify for the round of 16.
Head-to-head statistics reveal that Borussia Dortmund and PSV Eindhoven have met only once in the past with Dortmund claiming victory in that encounter. Dortmund scored 4 goals while PSV Eindhoven scored 1 goal.
Match tickets
This exciting match-up at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund is set to kick off on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at 20:00 GMT.
The 81,365-capacity stadium is set to host what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
Getting tickets for the Borussia Dortmund vs PSV tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Lineups
Borussia Dortmund under Edin Terzic tends to build out from the backline, quickly progressing the ball up the pitch through precise positional plays. Injury concerns include Schlotterbeck (shoulder), Nmecha (hip), Adeyemi (ankle), Haller (ankle), and Ryerson (medial collateral ligament).
Borussia Dortmund XI: Kobel, Maatsen, Sule, Can, Meunier, Brandt, Ozcan, Sabitzer, Malen, Füllkrug, Bynoe-Gittens
PSV Eindhoven are a pressing machine. They play a hyper-aggressive style of football and attack in large numbers when the opportunity presents itself. Injury concerns include Bella-Kotchap (injured), and Lozano (hip).
PSV Eindhoven XI: Benitez, Dest, Boscagli, Silva, Teze, Til, Veerman, Schouten, Tillman, de Jong, Bakayoko
Prediction
Both Dortmund and PSV will be looking to progress beyond the round of 16 and into the quarterfinals. Borussia Dortmund seem to have enough in their arsenal to edge out their Dutch opponents however, they will need to bring their A-game if they are to pull it off.
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
