The Champions league draw is this Monday and Dortmund has a tough list of possible opponents. The possible opponents we could take on are Tottenham, Liverpool, Ajax, Olympique Lyon, AS Roma, Manchester United. Below the writers give their takes on who they want to play and who they don’t want to play in this first knockout stage.
Sean Keyser
Who do we want to draw?
Any team we face in the round of 16 will be a difficult opponent, but of all the available opponents we can face, I would have to choose Roma. This is more the result of a process of elimination than anything else. Liverpool are one of the best clubs in the tournament, so I don’t want to face them. Tottenham are also solid, and they beat BVB up last season, so I’m not sure I want to face them again. Olympique Lyon outplayed Manchester City twice, so I don’t think I want to face them either. Ajax are overflowing with young talent and went toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich in the group stage. Manchester United are weak on the surface, but if anybody knows how to shithouse their way to the next round, it’s Jose Mourinho. That leaves Roma, who were second-best to Real Madrid by a considerable margin, and have struggled in Serie A this season. They still have plenty of talent, and would by no means be easy, but in my opinion they’re the least dangerous club we could face.
Who do we not want to draw?
I have a feeling everyone else will say Liverpool, so I’m going to go against the grain and say Olympique Lyon. The way they played Manchester City off the pitch twice, with a combination of high pressing and blistering counter attacks, makes me think that they could easily do the same to Borussia Dortmund. They feature a plethora of attacking threats, especially Memphis Depay, Bertrand Traouré Nabil Fekir, Moussa Dembélé, and Maxwel Cornet, who has been terrific in Lyon’s champions league campaign. I’ve seen a lot of people name Lyon as the team they’d most like to face in the next round, and I think much of that stems from the fact that they’re in the French League and are overshadowed by PSG. While I think BVB could very well beat them, it would be nowhere near as easy as many people are saying.
John Syzmendera
Who do we want to draw?
Manchester United. There are easier matchups that I would of course be happy to see, but a matchup against Manchester United would be the best mix of winnability and entertainment. Despite their struggles, Man United is a top team and Dortmund getting the chance to play them and prove themselves as a powerhouse in Europe is what the Champions league is all about. I am pretty confident BVB would do just that and would love for them to be the ones to put Man U at rock bottom. Would an elimination at the hands of the black and yellow finally spell the end for Mourinho’s tenure? I would love to find out.
Who do we not want to draw?
Liverpool is the obvious choice. They are the only team that Dortmund could draw that may in fact be better than them at this point in the season. Fortunately, although I would be upset with the luck, Liverpool would still be a really fun matchup. Klopp challenging for the premier league title and attempting another run in the Champions league going up against his former team that is clicking on all cylinders with only one loss to their name all season. That’s not too shabby for the worst possible outcome (I’d much rather play them in the final though).
Joel MacDonald
Who do we want to draw?
I want to draw Ajax. I haven’t really watched them this season, but considering all the other names that we could draw, I know they’re the ones I want to draw.
Who don’t we want to draw?
Liverpool and Manchester United are both teams I definitely don’t want to draw. Liverpool attacks with speed and experience, something I don’t 100% trust our defenders to handle, not to mention they’ve got some decent defenders and Alisson in goal. The reason I’d be nervous against Manchester United is that they’re the champions of crap football, and they would drag us down to their level and beat us with experience.
Brian Meyers
Who do we want to draw?
The Champions league is about playing the best teams in Europe. The best team we can draw is Liverpool so that’s who I want. We are going to have to beat the best to be the best so why hold off and pray for an easy team? Until Dortmund start taking down the behemoths of Europe others will still consider us the little brothers of Bayern. This is the best Dortmund squad in years, time to prove it.
Who don’t we want to draw?
By the same thinking as above Ajax.Nothing against Ajax, they are a very good team, but they are the weakest of the group.