Borussia Dortmund conclude their Champions League group-stage campaign with a trip to Denmark to face Copenhagen on Wednesday night.
While the hosts are guaranteed to finish bottom of Group G, the visitors have already secured their place in the last 16 with a game to spare.
Copenhagen are one of only four teams in this season’s Champions League who are yet to win in the group stage, after drawing two and losing three of their first five matches in Group G, and they are the only side who have failed to score.
Indeed, both draws have come on home soil against Sevilla and Manchester City, which bodes well for Jacob Neestrup’s side ahead of their final group clash with Dortmund. Copenhagen are in fact the only team in European Cup/Champions League history to have played out four successive goalless draws on home soil, including two in the 2016-17 campaign.
In addition, Byens Hold have kept a clean sheet in 60% of their Champions League matches at Parken Stadium, the best percentage of any team in the competition’s history to play at least 10 games.
Nevertheless, Copenhagen’s Group G fate was sealed last week when they suffered a 3-0 away defeat against Sevilla, a result which means the La Liga side are guaranteed to finish third at their expense and drop down into the Europa League knockout rounds.
Copenhagen responded to their defeat in the South of Spain with a 2-0 away victory over Randers in the Danish Superliga last weekend. The 14-time top-flight champions have endured a difficult start to their title defence so far this season and currently sit 10 points behind league leaders Nordsjaelland after 15 games.
Neestrup’s side, who have lost all three previous European meetings with Dortmund, will be seeking to avoid becoming the fourth team in Champions League history to not score a single goal in the group stage after Deportivo La Coruna in 2004-05, Maccabi Haifa in 2009-10 and Dinamo Zagreb in 2016-17.
After failing to progress past the group stage of the Champions League last season, Borussia Dortmund have booked their place in the last 16 with a game to spare this time around courtesy of a goalless home draw with Group G winners Manchester City last week.
BVB are guaranteed to finish as Group G runners-up due to Man City’s superior head-to-head record, and their opponents in the knockout rounds will be determined when the draw is made on November 7.
Edin Terzic’s side head into Wednesday’s dead-rubber fixture with Copenhagen off the back of a 2-1 Bundesliga away victory against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. Despite facing 20 shots on goal from Frankfurt, strikes from Julian Brandt and Jude Bellingham helped Dortmund secure maximum points and move to within four points of Union Berlin at the summit.
Indeed, Bellingham has been a standout performer for BVB so far this season, particularly in the Champions League after scoring four goals in five matches. The 19-year-old scored in both away games against Man City and Sevilla, and the midfielder could become just the third teenager after Kylian Mbappe in 2017-18 and Erling Braut Haaland in 2019-20 to score in all three group-stage away fixtures in a single season.
Dortmund secured a 3-0 home win over Copenhagen last month, with Bellingham also on the scoresheet on that occasion, and they have never lost against Danish opponents in major European competition.
Copenhagen Champions League form:
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Copenhagen form (all competitions):
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Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:
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Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
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We say: Copenhagen 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
Copenhagen will be keen to end their group-stage campaign on a high and at least score their first goal in this season’s competition to give the home supporters something to cheer about.
However, they may struggle to breach Dortmund’s resilient backline, which has kept three clean sheets in the last four matches, and the German outfit will be regarded as favourites to claim maximum points even if they decide to rest a few star names.