UEFA Champions League Group F leaders Arsenal host Borussia Dortmund in a must-win match for the German Champions. Dortmund currently sit third with four points and are very much in charge of their own destiny with matches against Arsenal and second-place side Marseille.
Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund, 2011 UEFA Champions League Matchday 5 Preview: BVB In Need Of A Win To Improve Qualification Chances
Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund both come into their Champions League Group F match full of confidence and looking to secure a place in the knockout round.
The trip to the Emirates comes on the back of a huge victory over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and Jurgen Klopp’s side will looking to ride that wave of confidence to another victory. In the first meeting between these two clubs, at the Westfalenstadion, ended in a 1-1 draw, thanks to a late equalizer from Ivan Persic. Dortmund are fortunate in that they are, for the most part, healthy. The only injury of note is that defender Nevin Subotic remains sidelined with a facial injury that he suffered against Wolfsburg earlier this month.
Arsenal have already received a huge boost with the return to fitness of Abou Diaby. The French midfielder has yet to play for the Gunners after having ankle surgery in June. The return of Diaby is excellent news as the powerful midfielder will be a huge help for an Arsenal side that has been leaking goals. Unfortunately, he’ll more than likely begin the match on the bench. Tomas Rosicky will not play against his former club after picking up a thigh injury.
In the first meeting between these two clubs Dortmund dominated play. The Germans managed 23 shots, six on goal, and maintained 57% of the possession. However, this is a much different Arsenal side. It is not different, or at least not by much, in its composition. It is, however, very different in terms of its attitude. Robin Van Persie, whom manager Arsene Wenger has said will start, is in blistering form at the moment and his confidence seem seems to have spread to the rest of the club.
The Gunners are unbeaten in their last eight matches and with the form that Van Persie is in, it is hard to bet against them. Dortmund do need a victory in this match and should attack from the off and with Arsenal’s often porous defense, goals could definitely come in bunches for both sides. A scoring draw seems like the most logical result from this match.
Projected Lineups
Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1): Roman Weidenfeller; Marcel Schmelzer, Felipe Santana, Mats Hummels, Lukasz Piszczek; Sven Bender, Sebastian Kehl; Kevin Grosskreutz, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Gotze; Robert Lewandowski
Arsenal (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczęsny; Andre Santos, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Johan Djourou; Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta; Gervinho, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott
Join us here on SB Nation Soccer for live coverage of the match at 7:45 PM GMT (2:45 PM EST).
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