The fourth round of the Champions League group stage brings us a very interesting match in which Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle will cross swords. These two teams met two weeks ago, and then, to everyone’s surprise, Borussia took all three points from England. Because of this, Newcastle will be very motivated to get their revenge in the match scheduled for tonight at 18:45.
Borussia Dortmund: Time to forget about Bayern!
The Millionaires, unlike in previous seasons, have learned to win the “small” matches. The thought of being champions in the last round may have tied their legs against Mainz, but if Borussia routinely resolves clashes with the lower and middle class of German football this season, they could keep pace with Bayern. However, after Sunday’s derby, some things became a little clearer. With their tenth victory in the last 11 Klassikers, Bayern’s players confirmed that the duel with Borussia Dortmund has not been the derby it was, for example, at the end of the last decade. The Bavarians continued their series of excellent results against the Millionaires, and unlike most of the previous celebrations, this Sunday’s champion orchestrated a very dominant performance and convincingly celebrated a 4:0 victory in front of 80,000 home fans.
Many wondered how Borussia would run the championship race after two huge blows that hit them this summer. Jude Bellingham and Raphael Guerreiro were almost half the team, and yet there are few clubs that know how to replace stars and fill gaps as aptly as Borussia, usually with talents. This was once again confirmed this season as they were in a fantastic streak of 8 matches without defeat until the loss to Bayern. That defeat on Sunday was also Borussia’s first of the new season, and they are now in fourth place on the table with twenty-one points, seven points less than the top-placed Leverkusen.
It could somewhat be sensed that Borussia’s players were in a slight decline after the match with Eintracht in Frankfurt, where they were losing for most of the game but ultimately managed to pull through and draw (3:3). The top scorers this season are Julian Brandt, Donyell Malen, and the unrivaled Marco Reus.
Looking at the results in the Champions League, we can say that Borussia has so far achieved positive results to some extent. In the first round, they were defeated in Paris by PSG with a score of 2:0, while in the second round, they drew at home with the team from Milan – 0:0. Alarms were already sounding in Dortmund, and few believed that they would get the necessary three points away at Newcastle.
But that’s exactly what happened, as Borussia, against all expectations, celebrated in that match and thus won their fourth point, currently placing them in second place in Group F. Edin Terzić’s proteges celebrated with a score of 1:0, and the decisive goal was scored by midfielder Felix Nmecha, who came as a replacement for Bellingham, at the end of the first half.
Newcastle: Eager for Revenge!
Newcastle continues to rack up good results after a somewhat poor start to the season, and it seems that their appetite this season is greater than the last. The team from the north of England is mainly led by Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak. Both forwards are in form this season and are scoring goals. The former has five league goals, while the Swedish international has already scored six. However, the most important factor for Newcastle is their defense, which has only conceded eleven times so far, with only teams from the top four doing better in that regard.
Nevertheless, the Magpies did not carry their league form into the match against Dortmund and narrowly lost at home 0:1 two weeks ago, despite being the far more dangerous team. A significant concern for Eddie Howe is the injury to Isak, who had to be substituted in the 15th minute, and it is uncertain how long he will be absent from the field.
After a phenomenal performance at Old Trafford and a 0:3 triumph over Manchester United, Newcastle inflicted the first defeat of the season on Arsenal this weekend. The match at St. James’ Park was supposed to be one of the derbies of the 11th round, but the participants’ approach caused a real brawl in the north of England. A brawl in which Eddie Howe’s men fared better, with Anthony Gordon delivering the decisive blow in all the confusion to the London team.
Perhaps in the last decade, Newcastle was seen as a regular customer for Arsenal (winning only one of 17 head-to-head matches in that period), but that trend has changed with the arrival of Eddie Howe. With the English manager at the helm, Newcastle has become Mikel Arteta’s nightmare. Last May, they won against him, just like tonight, on their own ground, and in the middle of last season, they withstood him at the Emirates (0:0). And right after that dull, almost unwatchable January performance in London, the Spanish manager complained that Howe did not want to play an open game.
After this victory, which further contributed to Newcastle’s confidence, it is clear that they will be highly motivated to avenge their defeat to Borussia from 14 days ago. Eddie Howe cannot count on several injured players. For Saturday’s duel, Tonali remains suspended for 10 months due to sports betting, then Anderson, Barnes, Botman, Miley, Murphy, and the aforementioned Isak are also out.
Our Betting Suggestion
There is no clear favorite in this match, so the odds for both teams to win are identical – 2.60 at Mozzartbet.
We believe that we are in for a very tough and tactically challenging match, and we suggest playing X2&un 3.5 at odds of 1.87 at Mozzartbet.
As a bonus tip, we suggest a halftime/fulltime draw at odds of 5.70 also at Mozzartbet.
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