MADRID, 19 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
PSV and Borussia Dortmund meet this Tuesday (9:00 p.m.) in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League, in one of the most open qualifying rounds that pits two teams whose presence among the eight best teams in the top competition continental would be a success, and in which the Germans, with the advantage of playing the second leg at home, start with a certain favoritism.
PSV receives Borussia Dortmund at the Philips Stadium in what will be the first game of the tie between the Dutch and Germans. The city of Eindhoven will once again enjoy a 'Champions' knockout match seven years later, while the Germans reach the round that was their peak in the competition last season.
The Dutch team reaches the round of 16 as leader of the Eredivisie, in which it leads Feyenoord by 10 points with 12 rounds remaining. An income in the domestic competition that allows Peter Bosz's men to focus all their efforts on Europe. For now, in the group stage they showed that they are a very uncomfortable place, drawing a tie against one of the main favorites for the title, Arsenal (1-1).
A team with great offensive potential, the rojiblanco has accumulated 70 goals in the Dutch league and in the 'Champions', despite not being very accurate in front of goal with eight goals, is the fifth team that attempted the most shots in the phase of groups with 96 shots, 30 of them between the three suits. Furthermore, at home he has managed to find the net in the 17 games he has played.
At an individual level, Luuk de Jong's season deserves special mention, with 27 goals being PSV's most. An offensive performance to which he also contributes with his associative play, providing ball output with his back game, and generating goals in the form of assists, 10 so far. As for his current moment, the former Barça and Sevilla forward has scored four goals and assisted another in his last four games.
For its part, Dortmund is immersed in the fight for the 'Champions' positions in the Bundesliga, where it is fourth but only one point above Leipzig, which is fifth. Despite this, Terzic's team has gone nine games without losing, and in the six official games it has played in 2024, it won four of them. Furthermore, as a visitor they have not lost since December 6 and have only lost three times throughout the season.
In addition, they qualified for the round of 16 as first in the so-called 'group of death', beating top-level teams such as PSG, Newcastle and Milan. Group stage in which the Germans managed to win in fields such as Saint James's Park (0-1) or San Siro (1-3), showing the great potential they have as a visitor. Furthermore, the only time they visited PSV in the top continental competition in the 21st century, they achieved victory – 2001-02 season by 1-3 -.
And if Luuk de Jong is the Dutch goal man, Niclas Fülkrug has unleashed himself as a scorer since the competition returned in Germany in 2024. The German international striker has scored six goals in the last five games, in which he has also distributed two assists. In total, there are 12 goals that the striker has accumulated this season in different competitions, although only one came in the Champions League.
In the casualty section, Bosz will not be able to count on the injured Bella-Kotchap and Noa Lang, while Til is a doubt due to a concussion, although he will be able to count on Bakayoko, absent due to illness in the last match. For his part, Terzic has the entire squad available except Felix Nmecha.