BVB vs Real Madrid: Match Preview

24th of October 2012, Dortmund welcome Real Madrid in the Westfalenstadion and beat them 2:1. Two weeks later, drawing 2:2 in the return leg at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu all but secured Dortmund's first place in the "Group of Death".

Still in the same CL season, on the 24th of April 2013, the two teams met again, with Dortmund beating Real once more with a glorious 4:1 at home - four goals by Lewandowski made sure that even Real's 2:0 victory in the return leg would not spare the Royal Club from elimination from the tournament.

One year later, the two teams met again in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. This time, though, the Spanish team emerged victorious. Even though Dortmund valiantly fought at home, beating the guest side in a 2:0 victory, the 3:0 first leg victory helped Madrid go through to the semi-finals - and eventually winning the competition against their local rivals Atlético.

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That game on the 9th of April 2014 was the last Dortmund game against Madrid - but without a doubt, the recent Champions League matchups between the two European powerhouses have been a display of excitement, skill and drama. And tomorrow, we will enter the next round in the clash for this season's European Championship. Madrid is the reigning Champ and aiming to finish first in Group F. Dortmund has only just returned to Champions League football, but are eager to build on their previous victory against Warsaw. Both teams have set their eyes on leading the group to get a good start into the elimination phase of the tournament.

Dortmund are on a streak, though, having just beaten Wolfsburg and Freiburg in convincing fashion. The offense is stellar, right now, with Castro having found his position in center mid, Götze slowly getting into the groove, Mor and Dembélé running circles around the opposition and Guerreiro being the unstoppable force behind our center forward Aubameyang.

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That said, defensively, the last two games showed some room for improvement. With a 2:0 lead against Freiburg, our last line became a bit sloppy, misplacing easy passes, bringing Bürki under pressure, conceding an easy goal where they shouldn't have. Real Madrid will punish us a lot harder than Wolfs- and Freiburg could if we keep passing presents around in defense.

Thomas Tuchel confirmed in his pregame press conference that all three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Schurrle, and Marc Bartra will all be available to start against Real Madrid. The fitness of these important players gives Dortmund valuable experience in a young side, as all have faced Real Madrid and played in crucial Champions League games before in their career.

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So. It's about time. It's all said and done, all I can do now is sit back, turn on the TV and watch the game. Except I can't.

Cause I'll be in the Westfalenstadion to watch, suckers! :D