Borussia Dortmund take on the visitors Athletic Bilbao in the round 2 match of UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 1st at Signal Iduna Park (Dortmund).
Borussia Dortmund keep finding ways to create problems for themselves. The “Bees” were Champions League finalists in 2024. Afterwards, the club chose to part ways with veterans Marco Reus and Mats Hummels while also changing the coach. Nuri Sahin, who replaced Edin Terzić, quickly started to disappoint, and was eventually replaced at the right time by Niko Kovač. At the very least, the Croatian managed to secure fourth place in the Bundesliga, even if the team crashed out early in other tournaments, including the summer Club World Cup. Old weaknesses were still on display in the new season, as they dropped points against St. Pauli after conceding twice in stoppage time. The same collapse was repeated in Turin in their Champions League opener, where they led 4-2 only to allow Juventus to rescue a draw with late goals from Vlahović and company. Dortmund’s defensive inconsistency remains their biggest issue, as they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in five straight matches. Still, their attack led by Malen and Adeyemi shows plenty of promise, with goals rarely being a problem.
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Athletic Club reaped rewards after reuniting with Ernesto Valverde. He guided the club to their first Copa del Rey triumph since 1984 — exactly 40 years later! Last season, Athletic even managed to stay in the mix just behind Spain’s “big three,” finishing fourth ahead of Villarreal on goal difference with 70 points, while also reaching the Europa League semifinals. This year, Nico Williams (who stayed despite transfer speculation) and his teammates seemed to start well with early victories. But in September, after the international break, results dipped both domestically and in Europe, with a 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League opener exposing their limits. Athletic’s recent run includes back-to-back league defeats where their attack looked unusually flat. Defensively, they have also struggled against quicker opponents, raising concerns about their ability to cope in away fixtures.
There have been no official matches between the clubs, though Athletic won friendlies in both 2016 and 2021. It feels like the right time for the Bees to finally get a win, especially at home. We’re backing the Germans to claim victory.
Prediction for the match: Borussia Dortmund to win.
