Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid talking points

Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid face each other at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday in Champions League Group H.

Here, we look at some talking points ahead of the game.

Dortmund on song

Dortmund lost their Group H opener 3-1 against Tottenham at Wembley, but have been in fine form since then, scoring 14 goals and conceding only one over the course of three successive Bundesliga wins. Peter Bosz’s league leaders beat Borussia Monchengladbach 6-1 at home on Saturday, with a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hat-trick taking him to 12 goals in nine games so far this term in all competitions.

Real stuttering

Real also won at the weekend, although in nowhere near as convincing fashion as Zinedine Zidane’s men emerged with a 2-1 victory from their trip to LaLiga’s bottom side Alaves. That was only the second time securing maximum points in five league outings for the fifth-placed champions, who began their title defence in this competition with a comfortable 3-0 win over Apoel Nicosia.

History favours the hosts

If all that looks promising in terms of the home side’s chances, so does the record of previous meetings – Real have never won in six away matches against Dortmund, losing three times. The two encounters between the clubs in last season’s Champions League group stage both ended in 2-2 draws.

How will Ronaldo fare?

It seems likely, as is so often the case, that Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance will be key to how Real get on. The Portugal star is yet to find the net in two LaLiga appearances so far this term – he was denied by a post on Saturday while Dani Ceballos scored twice on his full league debut for Real – but he notched a brace in the Apoel game, his 106th and 107th goals in the competition.