Borussia Dortmund
vs
AS Monaco
Kick-off
16:45 GMT
12 April 2017
It’s the first leg of a huge UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie between two of the competition’s underdogs this season. Monaco make the trip to Germany and the Signal Iduna Park as they look to take a decent result into the second-leg at their stadium. The two sides have been fantastic to watch this season and Dortmund overcame 4-1 on aggregate in the last leg while Monaco beat Man City on away goals after a 6-6 aggregate score.
The two sides haven’t faced each other yet in Europe and both teams will be desperate to win the first meeting so they can hold the advantage in the second-leg. It’s the battle of the competition’s two highest scoring teams so expect both teams to score in this first-leg.
Dortmund’s hopes of a first-leg advantage will be massively boosted as Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle are in line to return for the hosts. They’ll need to stay resolute at the back as Monaco are extremely dangerous going forward with Kylian Mbappe and Falcao in top form. With Reus and Aubameyang in their own attacking ranks, they pose a massive threat and have a great chance of taking a lead into the second-leg.
Latest matches: Borussia Dortmund
08.04.2017 | Bund | Bayern Munich | Borussia Dortmund | 4:1 | L |
04.04.2017 | Bund | Borussia Dortmund | Hamburger SV | 3:0 | W |
01.04.2017 | Bund | FC Schalke 04 | Borussia Dortmund | 1:1 | D |
17.03.2017 | Bund | Borussia Dortmund | FC Ingolstadt | 1:0 | W |
14.03.2017 | DFB | SF Lotte | Borussia Dortmund | 0:3 | W |
The visitors are on a great run of form and look like the front-runners for the Ligue 1 title after they were defeated by PSG in the French Cup final. They’ll need to on their game in this clash and the defensive showing will be paramount which has been slightly leaky. With the threat of Dortmund’s attack, they’ll have to be rock solid at the back. Tiemoue Bakayoko’s absence from the squad may turn out to be a big miss. Latest matches: AS Monaco
08.04.2017
Ligu
SCO Angers
AS Monaco
0:1
W
04.04.2017
Coup
AS Monaco
Lille OSC
2:1
W
01.04.2017
Coup
AS Monaco
Paris St Germain
1:4
L
19.03.2017
Ligu
SM Caen
AS Monaco
0:3
W
15.03.2017
UEFA
AS Monaco
Manchester City
3:1
W
With home advantage and Marco Reus’ potential return, Dortmund look like the favourites heading into this quarter-final first-leg but Monaco certainly won’t be easy opposition and have been brilliant across all competitions this season. It will be a tight affair over both legs in this quarter-final clash and the result in the first-leg will be huge. Both teams will attack strongly and will probably both score but with possibly weak defences, it could turn out to be a goal fest over both legs. Dortmund should have the advantage after the first-leg but Monaco won’t lie down easily. Expect lots of goals.
12 April 2017 - 16:45 GMT
Share your opinion about this preview by leaving a comment below.