On paper, Borussia Dortmund should pretty comfortably beat Zenit St. Petersburg and progress into the Champions League quarterfinals. In reality, they may find life a little more difficult. They head into the first leg at the Petrovsky Stadium on the back of a disappointing 3-0 Bundesliga hammering to the not-very-good HSV, as they continue to struggle through an injury crisis.
Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Borussia Dortmund: Preview and TV schedule
Borussia Dortmund are favourites in their Champions League tie with Zenit, but are battling injuries heading into the first leg in St. Petersburg.
They'll be without several key first-teamers for this trip to Russia; namely İlkay Gündoğan, Sven Bender, Neven Subotić and Jakub Błaszczykowski, with Mats Hummels in doubt. However, they can at least take some heart from Zenit's lack of match practice -- this will be their first competitive game back after the long Russian winter break.
Zenit too have a few important players missing, but aren’t quite as injury-hit as their visitors. Cristian Ansaldi, Roman Shirokov and Danny will all be sidelined, with Alexander Kerzhakov set for a late fitness test. However, they’ve got January signing Salomón Rondón to throw into their starting 11; the young Venezuelan is set for his first appearance after joining from Rubin Kazan last month.
Zenit St. Petersburg injuries and suspensions
Out: Cristian Ansaldi, Roman Shirokov, Danny. In doubt: Alexander Kerzhakov.
Borussia Dortmund injuries and suspensions
Out: İlkay Gündoğan (back), Sven Bender (groin), Neven Subotić (knee), Jakub Błaszczykowski (knee). In doubt: Mats Hummels (ankle).
Projected lineups
Zenit St. Petersburg: Juri Lodygin; Domenico Criscito, Nicolas Lombaerts, Tomáš Hubočan, Aleksandr Anyukov; Axel Witsel, Victor Fayzulin; Andrey Arshavin, Oleg Shatov, Hulk; Alexander Kerzhakov.
Borussia Dortmund: Roman Weidenfeller; Łukasz Piszczek, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer; Sebastian Kehl, Nuri Şahin; Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; Robert Lewandowski.
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 9 p.m. local, 12 p.m. ET
Venue: Petrovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. - English), Fox Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet World (Canada), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.), NTV Russia, NTV+ Football (Russia), Sky Sport 1/HD (Germany)
Online: Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K. and Germany)
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