Possible Opponents for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League Round of 16

Borussia Dortmund have made it to the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. Here is a preview of their potential opponents in the next round.

Having finally reached the conclusion of the Champions League group stages, Borussia Dortmund have managed to finish second in their group behind Manchester City. The club’s journey to this point wasn’t exactly a straightforward one however. Dortmund’s group consisted of English champions City, a very stubborn Sevilla side, and Danish Champions FC Copenhagen. Dortmund were more or less expected to finish where they did, (second), but they hit a few roadblocks along the way.

Dortmund’s first game was against Copenhagen, and the club started out strong with a 3-0 home victory over the Danish side. This was followed up by a very tough reunion with Erling Haaland when the club traveled to Manchester to face their old striker and his new club. This proved to be a hard fought match with Dortmund doing a lot right, but Haaland was able to haunt his old club and get the winner in the dying stages of the game.

Two matches with Sevilla followed, with the first going in the way of Dortmund in a 4-1 victory. The second was a gritty 1-1 draw. Dortmund also managed to secure a draw against Manchester City in the return leg at the Westfalenstadion, which exemplified their ability to compete even with some of Europe’s strongest sides. The draw also sealed Dortmund’s berth into the round of 16.

Dortmund’s final match was their recent 1-1 draw away to Copenhagen this past week, and the result showed that just as much as Dortmund could play to the level of high end opposition, they could also underperform and play down to the level of weaker opposition as well. It is this lack of consistency that makes Dortmund’s prospects for the round of 16 all the more interesting and uncertain.

With the group stages concluded, we can now look to the possible draws Dortmund can come across in the next round. These teams are Napoli, FC Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, and Benfica

At first glance, this seems like quite a decent pool of clubs for Dortmund to choose from. That being said, many of these clubs are in scintillating form and would make for extremely difficult opponents in the next round. Napoli have scored a total of 20 goals across the 6 games they have played so far, conceding only 6. Benfica topped a group that included both PSG and Juventus. Porto also topped a group that included Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. Real Madrid is well…Real Madrid, and both Spurs and Chelsea have the quality in their squads to be problematic opponents as well.

Based on the options on offer, there really isn’t such a thing as an easy opponent for Dortmund to get in the next round. Each opponent will take a high level of concentration and determination to overcome. Of these clubs, two things need to be taken into account when determining which opponents might be the best fit for Dortmund to draw – form and style of play.

Teams that play more defensively have often been the bane of this club’s existence, especially over the last several years. We have seen this weakness exacerbated this season due to Dortmund’s struggles to score goals. This would make the competition’s more gritty sides more of a struggle for Dortmund, especially considering the fact that goals have been hard to come by.

Based on the options provided and their current form(s), I think Chelsea would be a good opponent for Dortmund in the next round. The club currently finds itself in a transition period after the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and the appointment of Graham Potter. They aren’t exactly the most consistent side this season, and if Dortmund’s game against Manchester City is anything to go by, they have shown the ability to compete against big name English opposition.

Whoever Dortmund’s opponent is in the next round, the club will certainly have their work cut out for them however. Making it to the round of 16 is an important achievement for the club and it’s goals this season, but they will have to continue to push Europe’s other elite clubs and face stronger opposition if they want to continue in this competition.

With the draw for the knockout stage set to take place this coming Monday, November 7th, Dortmund will know their next opponent in the competition very soon. It is my hope that going into the next round Edin Terzić and co. really seize the opportunity to go as far as possible in the competition and push the club’s and player’s limits.