Newcastle United vs Borussia Dortmund

Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund are set to face off against each other for the first time at St James’ Park in a heavyweight Champions League showdown.

It’s been a dream start to Newcastle United’s first Champions League group stage campaign in two decades as Eddie Howe’s men dismantled continental powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on matchday two after eking out a scoreless draw at AC Milan on day one. Amid concerns surrounding the immediate future of Sandro Tonali over his implications in the illegal betting scandal, the ‘Magpies’ are flying high, thrashing Crystal Palace 4-0 at the weekend to make it eight games unbeaten across all competitions (W6, D2). Things get even better at St James’ Park, where they’ve won their last five competitive outings, including four without conceding! Delivering action from the get-go, they’ve opened the scoring within the first 20 minutes of play in their three most recent home fixtures.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund squeezed past Werder Bremen 1-0 at home in the Bundesliga last weekend, extending their unbeaten streak in all competitions to five matches (W4, D1) following a disheartening 2-0 loss at PSG in their Champions League curtain-raiser. However, Edin Terzic’s men have yet to score in Group F, having shared the spoils with Milan in a scoreless home draw last time out, casting some doubt on their quest to reach the Champions League knockouts for the second season running. Traveling to the United Kingdom doesn’t bode well for Dortmund’s effort to get off the mark in this season’s Champions League, considering they’ve lost their last six away European games against English opponents, conceding 2+ goals on each occasion! On top of that, they’ve emerged victorious only once on their last seven continental travels (D1, L5).