UEFA Champions League Preview: Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal ====================================== Borussia Dortmund will aim for their eighth home UEFA Champions League win in a row when they take on Arsenal on Wednesday. The much-anticipated Group F clash pits two of Europes in-form teams against each other, with Dortmund hoping to continue their excellent record at Signal Iduna Park. That statistic is not limited to the Champions League, with Dortmund - who sit second in the pool behind their visitors on goal difference - having won all eight of their home fixtures in all competitions this season. Dortmund sit second in the Bundesliga - just one point behind reigning champions Bayern Munich - and have won their last four matches, including a 2-1 triumph at Arsenal last month. Manager Jurgen Klopp is looking forward to taking on Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger again - a man he greatly admires, despite the two having different ideas on how football should be played. He is really something. I love him. He is Sir Arsene Wenger, Klopp said. I like (Arsenals philosophy). I love it but I cannot coach it because I am a different guy. It is not my sport. I dont linking winning 80 per cent (of possession). Sorry, that is not enough for me. Fighting football, not serenity football, that is what I like. Klopp - who signed a two-year contract extension last week, keeping him at the club until 2018 - will return to the touchline for this match after completing a two-game ban. He will hope striker Robert Lewandowski continues his streak of form, with the Pole netting a hat-trick - his fourth for the club - in a 6-1 home win over Stuttgart on Friday. Lewandowski also scored a late winner in Dortmunds victory over Arsenal last month. Dortmund have never lost at home to an English side in the Champions League, winning four of seven previous matches. They will be without club captain Sebastian Kehl (ankle), despite the midfielder returning to training, while Lukasz Piszczek (groin) and Ilkay Gundogan (back) will also miss out. Premier League table-toppers Arsenal will enter the match full of confidence after a 2-0 home win over Liverpool on Saturday. Arsenal won thanks to strikes from Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey, with the latter having already scored 10 goals in all competitions this season. Arsene Wengers side are unbeaten in their last 14 away matches, with 12 of them being wins, and they have not lost in their last four visits to Germany in the Champions League. Arsenal are competing in their 16th successive Champions League campaign and will be well-placed to reach the round of 16 if they can beat Dortmund. But they will be without Theo Walcott (abdomen), Lukas Podolski (hamstring), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby (both knee), while young winger Serge Gnabry is struggling with an ankle injury.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 22:03:17 +0000