Borussia Dortmund will attempt to overcome a one-goal deficit against Monaco when they visit the Stade Louis II for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday night.
Thomas Tuchel's men suffered a 3-2 defeat at home, and their task in the reverse fixture is complicated by the away goals Monaco scored at Signal Iduna Park.
UEFA shouldn't have played BVB game
Dortmund were recovering from the shock of the attack on their bus last week, though, and are likely to be in a better frame of mind this time around as they seek to inflict a first home defeat in Europe this season on Leonardo Jardim's side.
| Game | Monaco vs Borussia Dortmund |
| Date | Wednesday, April 19, 2017 |
| Time | 19:45 GMT, 14:45 ET |
TV CHANNEL & LIVE STREAM
In the UK, the match will be available to watch live on television on BT Sport 3 and free on BT Sport Showcase. It can also be streamed via the BT Sport app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 3 / Showcase | BT Sport app |
In the US, the match will be available to watch live on television on FS2 and by stream via Fox Soccer 2Go.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| FS2 | Fox Soccer 2Go |
SQUADS & TEAM NEWS
| Position | Monaco players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Subasic, De Sanctis, Sy |
| Defenders | Jemerson, Mendy, Raggi, Glik, Diallo, Toure |
| Midfielders | Dirar, Moutinho, Silva, Bakayoko, Lemar, Jorge, N'Doram |
| Forwards | Falcao, Cardona, Germain, Mbappe |
Monaco should be able to welcome Benjamin Mendy back at left-back, while Tiemoue Bakayoko returns after suspension. He will replace Fabinho, who is serving a ban of his own after being booked in the first leg.
Otherwise, Monaco are likely to be unchanged. Djibril Sidibe remains sidelined with appendicitis and Guido Carrillo and Gabriel Boschilia are also out.
Potential starting XI: Subasic; Toure, Glik, Jemerson, Mendy; Silva, Moutinho, Bakayoko, Lemar; Falcao, Mbappe.
| Position | Borussia Dortmund players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Weidenfeller, Burki |
| Defenders | Guerreiro, Sokratis, Piszczek, Ginter, Schmelzer, Passlack |
| Midfielders | Bender, Sahin, Reus, Rode, Pulisic, Kagawa, Merino, Castro, Weigl |
| Forwards | Dembele, Mor, Aubameyang |
Erik Durm, Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze all missed the first leg and remain out for Dortmund, while Marc Bartra is recovering from the injuries he suffered in the bus attack on the day of the postponed match. Marco Reus, however, is back.
Tuchel could stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in the win over Eintracht Frankfurt, rather than the 3-4-3 that has been the norm of late, due to the absences of Bartra and Durm. His main selection decisions will be between Christian Pulisic and Ousmane Dembele on the wing, Raphael Guerreiro and Nuri Sahin in midfield and Sven Bender and Matthias Ginter at centre-back.
Potential starting XI: Burki; Piszczek, Sokratis, Ginter, Schmelzer; Weigl, Guerreiro; Dembele, Kagawa, Reus; Aubameyang.
BETTING & GAME ODDS
Getty Images
Dortmund are 23/20 favourites to win away from home, according to Oddschecker, with Monaco available at 11/5 and the draw priced at 13/4.
When is the Champions League draw?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the favourite to score first at 7/2, with Falcao following behind him at 26/5 and Marco Reus priced at 13/2.
GAME PREVIEW
Getty Images
Given the circumstances, it is impossible to say just how reflective the first leg of this tie was of the ability of the two teams contesting it.
Afterwards, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin admitted he had not even been thinking about the game until he was thrown into it as a half-time substitute. The emptiness in the eyes of many Dortmund players in photographs taken before and after their 3-2 defeat tells its own story.
Take nothing away from Monaco, who continued to showcase their attacking potency to secure a significant advantage to take back to the principality, but Dortmund will probably be happy to still be in the tie at all thanks to Shinji Kagawa's 84th-minute goal.
Kagawa also assisted his team's first goal and will lead what should be a Dortmund side in a better frame of mind, if not completely over the shock of the attack near their team bus, at Stade Louis II. The 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga will have helped to pick up spirits, as will Marco Reus' goalscoring return to the starting XI.
Unless we get an even more high-scoring affair than the first leg, however, Thomas Tuchel's side will need to win by two due to the away goals rule. That will be no easy task against Monaco, who have won five and drawn one of their six European home matches this season.
If Monaco score - and they have only failed to do that in one Champions League game, at Bayer Leverkusen, in 2016-17 - then Dortmund will need at least three. Whatever their means, if Dortmund can pull this off we are likely to be in for one of the best matches of this season's competition so far.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)