Borussia Dortmund welcome Atalanta to Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday for the first leg of their crucial UEFA Champions League knockout playoffs.
Der BVB enter the tie on the back of a thumping 4-0 league win over Mainz, their sixth on the bounce as Niko Kovac's side picked up the pace just in time.
Following a sombre ending to the Champions League first round, Dortmund are looking to channel the renewed vigor into the playoffs as they aim to reach the knockout stages.
Dortmund without two key defenders
The hosts have been hit with some key injuries in defense as Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Sule both have been ruled out of the first-leg tie against Atalanta.
Schlotterbeck is struggling with a muscle problem while Sule has thigh injury. Both players missed the team's final training session, the club confirmed.
The Italian curse
Borussia Dortmund have faced two Italian teams already this season, winning neither. The first one came against Juventus, where Dortmund blew away a 4-2 lead to draw 4-4 at the Allianz Stadium.
Inter Milan visited Dortmund on the final matchday of the league phase and pulled off a 2-0 victory as Der BVB couldn't find luck yet again.
Atalanta will be the third Serie A team they are playing in the Champions League this season and will be hoping to break the Italian curse here.
Atalanta on the up
La Dea also lost their last two Champions League fixtures but have since improved tremendously. For once, they thumped Juventus 3-0 in the Coppa Italia last week and most recently beat Lazio 2-0 on the road in Serie A.
In all competitions, the Bergamo outfit are unbeaten in their last four matches, a testament to their growing run of form which also sends an ominous message to BVB that it will be a challenging clash over two legs.
Dortmund bank on experience
One more factor that Dortmund can rely on is their experience in these stages of the competition. In fact, they have reached the last-16 in six of their last seven attempts in the Champions League.
As far as Atalanta is concerned, the Serie A side have only progressed from a two-legged tie just twice before: back in 2021-22 season when they beat Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League.
In the Champions League, they are yet to achieve that feat. Moreover, they fell to Club Brugge at this stage of the competition last year, losing both legs to bow out 5-2 on aggregate.