Borussia Dortmund on course to reach UEFA Champions League round of 16

What are Borussia Dortmund’s chances of finishing top of the group?

Borussia Dortmund have qualified for the UEFA Champions League ten times since the change in format. They have made it out of the group stage on seven occasions, finishing top of their group six times.

Winning your group gives you two advantages:

• You will get to play the second leg in front of your home fans. An advantage which is only increased by the return of the Yellow Wall to international matches.

• You will get to play a team that finished second in its group. Currently second placed teams include Salzburg, Marseille and Porto. All good teams but likely more beatable than Real Madrid or PSG.

Why is qualifying for the Round of 16 so important?

Getting into the elite 16 of the UEFA Champions League guarantees each team a financial bonus of $9 million which is especially important while the revenue is still affected by the pandemic. This prize money only rises with each knockout stage up to $20 million for the winner of the tournament.

All of this is in addition to almost $3 million per win, turnstiles revenue for each match and bonuses that sponsors will pay. The Champions League prize pool is four times bigger than that of the Europa League ($2bn compared to $450m).

Advancing to the round of 16 could also put Borussia Dortmund back into Pot 2 for next season’s group stage draw, having slipped to pot three this year.

Most importantly, this is hugely important for Borussia Dortmund’s international reputation and qualification would also help with attracting future talent as well as keeping current top players.