Borussia Dortmund resume their Champions League campaign away to Bodo/Glimt tonight, aiming to build on their opening day victory.
The BVB beat Villarreal 3-2 in a nervy encounter at the Signal Iduna Park last month to seal all three points on the opening matchday.
As for Bodo/Glimt, Bayern Munich handed them a heavy 5-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena and now face another Bundesliga powerhouse.
The sides met last year in the League Phase of the Champions League for their first official clash and it ended all square at 2-2 in Dortmund.
With the rematch now in Norway, here's what to look forward to:
1) How the BVB will respond to Friday's collapse
Borussia Dortmund suffered a late collapse against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last weekend, conceding a two-goal lead in the dying embers to draw 2-2. The side had displayed a concerning tendency to slip up in the closing stages of a match last season which reared its ugly head again on Friday.
Dortmund now have a point to prove in tonight's match. Having made an outlay of over 100 million euros over the summer to bolster their squad, questions remain over BVB's unconvincing style of play and tonight's clash in Norway, on an artificial turf in chilly weather conditions, will be stern test of their mettle.
2) How Dortmund adapt to artificial turf
Speaking of artificial turf, that's what Dortmund will be playing on tonight. Due to extreme weather conditions in Bodo, especially now during the winter, playing on natural grass is almost an impossible task.
To familiarize themselves with the pitch, that's where the Prussians also held their final training session on Tuesday.
There's been just one prior instance in Europe when Dortmund played on artificial turf, and that was held in Norway too. Against Odds BK in the Europa League qualifying of 2015, the BVB fought back from 3-0 down to win 4-3.
3) All eyes on Mr.Champions League, Serhou Guirassy
Guirassy has a reliable outlet for goals since his move to Dortmund in 2024, but he's been particularly talismanic in Europe's premier club competition.
In fact, his average for the BVB is the best in the Champions League than any other competition, averaging 0.76 goals per game after netting 19 times from 25 matches.
Guirassy struck a brace on the opening matchday of the current season too, scoring in the 80th and 85th minute to help Dortmund to a 3-2 win over Villarreal (although he also struck an own goal for the Spanish team in stoppage-time).
The Guinean ace will now be aiming to add to his ever-growing tally in the competition tonight.
