Borussia Dortmund begin their 2026-27 UEFA Champions League season against Villarreal at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday, aiming to continue their winning run.
Since the 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, the BVB have prevailed in their next three, beating Hamburger and Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, interspersed between which was the ouster of fifth-tier HEBC from their DFB-Pokal first-round clash.
Niko Kovac's side now aim to carry that momentum onto the European stage too. Here are three things to watch out for:
1) New boys make European debut
Borussia Dortmund's summer transfer contingent are all set for their European debuts with the club, although Giannis Konstantelias will have to wait given he's sidelined with a torn ACL right now.
Among the most impressive of the new acquisitions has been Joane Gadou, who is likely to start in an injury-ravaged defense while Konstantinos Karetsas starts as one of the two No.10s.
The Greek youngster was underwhelming against Hoffenheim on Saturday but will look to make a mark on his first Champions League appearance for the club.
He's most likely going to be joined by Marcel Sabitzer although Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri is gunning for a starting berth after his match-winning heroics against Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Tonight's game will be the first opportunity for BVB's summer acquisitions to showcase their talents on the European stage and we're eagerly looking forward to it.
2) Winless Villarreal staring at another loss
Villarreal were dealt a 4-0 hammering on their first visit to Signal Iduna Park in November 2025 and could be set for another huge loss tonight given their sluggish start to the new season.
In fact, the Yellow Submarine haven't won any of their four official games so far, drawing with Racing Santander and Atletico Madrid before losing consecutively against Alaves and Deportivo.
Having achieved a respectable third-place finish in LaLiga last season, the Valencian side have suffered a steep fall from grace in the 2026-27 campaign.
Inigo Perez is the new man in charge after Marcelino stepped down at the end of last term but has endured a difficult start to life as the Villarreal manager.
However, Borussia Dortmund would represent his toughest assignment yet and another defeat tonight would surely set the alarm bells ringing.
3) Dortmund's makeshift defense against Villarreal's star-studded attack
Villarreal boast one of the most underrated-yet-exciting attacking frontline consisting of Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze and Nicolas Pepe, all of whom have found the net at least once in the new season thus far.
The trio will be fancying their chances against Dortmund's weakened defense that's currently missing on Ramy Bensebaini, who is suspended, as well as Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck, both of whom are injured.
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