Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund

This will be the 10th meeting between Juventus and the BVB in European competition, with the Italian side historically holding the upper hand. The Old Lady has won six of the previous nine encounters, losing only twice. The Old Lady will be keen to continue that dominance in front of their home supporters on Tuesday when they begin their European campaign against German visitors Dortmund. Juventus enter the competition with history firmly on their side when it comes to opening fixtures on home turf. They have never lost the first match of a European Cup or Champions League campaign on their own patch, winning 11 and drawing three of 14. Last season, they began with a convincing 3-1 victory over PSV. The Allianz Stadium crowd will expect a similarly confident display this time around. Meanwhile, all eyes will also be on Igor Tudor once again, whose side picked up a remarkable 4-3 Derby d’Italia win over Inter in Saturday’s seven-goal thriller, thanks to his timely, tactically sound substitutions. A 3—4—2—1 formation with Dušan Vlahović in attack is expected for this fixture. Kenan Yildiz, whose fabulous goal helped the Old Lady to victory on Saturday, is one to watch.

Dortmund, meanwhile, travel to Italy knowing their record on this soil is far from reassuring. The Bundesliga side have lost five of their last six away games against Italian opposition in the Champions League, their only success coming in that stretch with a 2-1 victory at Bologna last season. Even that was a rare high point, given Bologna failed to win any of their other seven group matches. For the visitors, finding a way to improve on the road will be essential if Dortmund are to lay down an early marker in this UCL campaign. Dortmund, however, should not be underestimated. They have won their opening match in three of the last four Champions League campaigns, only stumbling in Paris in 2023 when they lost 2-0. With fast-paced attacking talents capable of troubling any defence, the German side will back themselves to test a resilient Italian side capable of coming up with answers whenever needed. A 3—4—3 formation with an attacking trio composed of Serhou Guirassy, Maximilian Beier, and Karim Adeyemi may be seen against Juventus.