The curtains will fall on the opening phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The action on the day will start and end with 18 simultaneous matches, including Borussia Dortmund vs Inter Milan at the Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan have seen their UEFA Champions League campaigns spiral in recent outings. Both teams have been in the top eight before plummeting in the standings. For the hosts, two defeats in their last four outings have sent them from sixth to 16th on the table.
On the other hand, Inter Milan’s 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign began with four successive victories, and they were third on the table after Matchday 4. However, with the Nerazzurri suffering three successive defeats since then, they have fallen to 14th in the standings.
However, despite their recent struggles in the UEFA Champions League, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan have been impressive in domestic football. The Black and Yellows have been on a 12-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga since losing Der Klassiker in October. On the other hand, Inter Milan’s most recent defeat came in November, with the Nerazzurri on a ten-match unbeaten run.
The most recent clash featuring Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan ended in a 3-2 win for the German outfit, even though the Nerazzurri led 2-0 at half-time. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Niko Kovac has a new roster issue that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Borussia Dortmund manager will be bereft of the services of only two first-team players vs Inter Milan on Wednesday.
Daniel Svensson is the latest absentee, as he will serve a suspension due to the accumulation of yellow cards. Meanwhile, Marcel Sabitzer is the only player in the treatment room due to a calf injury.
Gregor Kobel is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Borussia Dortmund lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Inter Milan on Wednesday. The central defensive unit will feature Waldemar Anton, Emre Can, and Nico Schlotterbeck. Julian Ryerson and Ramy Bensebaini will be the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width in the final third and protect the centre-backs. As for the midfield unit, Jobe Bellingham should line up alongside Felix Nmecha in the middle of the pitch. Finally, Serhou Guirassy will lead the line for Borussia Dortmund against Inter Milan, with Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi completing the numbers in the offensive third.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Kobel; Anton, Can, Schlotterbeck; Ryerson, Bellingham, Nmecha, Bensebaini; Adeyemi, Brandt; Guirassy
Unlike his counterpart in the Borussia Dortmund dugout, Cristian Chivu has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to the Signal Iduna Park. The Inter Milan manager will be without only two first-team players on Wednesday.
Denzel Dumfries (ankle) and Hakan Calhanoglu (calf) remain in the treatment room, and they will not take on Borussia Dortmund. However, Chivu can recall several players into the starting eleven, as he rested a few players this past weekend.
Yann Sommer is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Inter Milan lining up in a 3-5-2 formation in front of him vs Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. The central defensive unit will feature Manuel Akanji, Alessandro Bastoni, and Francesco Acerbi. Meanwhile, Luis Henrique and Federico Dimarco will start the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will protect the centre-backs and provide width in the final third. As for the midfield unit, Piotr Zielinski will line up alongside Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the centre of the park. Finally, Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram will start as the two strikers for the away side.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Akanji, Acerbi, Bastoni; Henrique, Zielinski, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
While Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez, and Julian Brandt were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Serhou Guirassy as the Player to Watch for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash between Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan at the Signal Iduna Park.
Guirassy has 12 goals and two assists in only ten UEFA Champions League outings at the Signal Iduna Park for Borussia Dortmund, scoring or assisting every 55 minutes. Among players to play 500 or more minutes at one venue, only Julian Alvarez at the Etihad (goal or assist every 51 minutes) has a better rate. Expect the Guinean striker to be at his best this week as he looks to take Borussia Dortmund to the next phase.
Neither team can afford any result other than a win, as they must overcome several teams before reaching the top eight. With their fate already out of their hands, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan must do everything they can to secure a top-eight finish.
However, while a closely-contested affair is on the cards, there may not be much to separate the two sides. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw between Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, with Serhou Guirassy and Lautaro Martinez scoring in a stalemate which will benefit neither team.
