Dortmund vs Club Brugge: UEFA Champions League background, form guide, previous meetings

Top of Group F despite losing their opening fixture, Borussia Dortmund can strengthen their position in the standings when Club Brugge come to Germany.

• BVB made it six points from three games in this season's UEFA Champions League as Erling Braut Haaland's double added to an opener from Belgian international Thorgan Hazard to secure a 3-0 win in Bruges last time out, all the goals coming in the first 32 minutes.

• That gave Dortmund a one-point lead over Lazio in the standings, with Club Brugge a further point back.

Previous meetings

• The teams were paired together in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage, Dortmund's Christian Pulišić scoring the only goal of those two games in the 85th minute in Belgium on Matchday 1.

• Prior to that season, the teams had each won two of their four matches, all at home – but Club Brugge emerged victorious in both ties, both in dramatic circumstances.

• In the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, each side won the home leg 2-1, sending the tie into a penalty shoot-out in Dortmund which was won 4-2 by the vistors.

• Dortmund appeared to have seized control of their 1986/87 UEFA Cup third round tie against Club Brugge with a 3-0 first-leg success in West Germany – only for the Belgian side to score three times themselves in the return to force extra time. There goals from Franky Van der Elst and Leo Van der Elst (no relation), with the latter completing his hat-trick, sealed a spectacular comeback.

Form guide
Dortmund

• The German club responded to their opening 3-1 loss at Lazio by beating Zenit 2-0 in Germany before the win at Club Brugge.

• Second in the Bundesliga behind Bayern München for the second season running in 2019/20, this is Dortmund's 15th UEFA Champions League campaign; they were winners in 1997, and runners-up in 2013. BVB have reached the round of 16 in six of their last seven participations.

• Lucien Favre's side finished second behind Barcelona in their section last season, picking up ten points – seven of them at home – to finish ahead of Internazionale and Slavia Praha.

• Dortmund were 2-1 winners at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 first leg, but bowed out after going down 2-0 in the return in France.

• BVB have won six of their last ten European matches (L4), all four defeats coming away from home.

• Haaland, who has found the net in all three Group F games to date, has scored in eight of his nine group stage appearances, 12 goals in all.

• Despite victories in their last four home matches, Dortmund have won only seven of their last 15 European games in their own stadium (D3 L5).

• Dortmund have won three of their six home games against Belgian visitors (D2 L1).

Club Brugge
• The Belgian club kicked off Group F with a 2-1 win at Zenit but took only one point from their two subsequent home games, against Lazio (1-1) and Dortmund.

• Club Brugge are in the group stage for the third year in a row, the first time they have achieved that feat; it is their eighth UEFA Champions League group appearance overall. They have never progressed to the knockout rounds.

• In 2019/20, the Belgian side finished third behind Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in Group A, picking up three points (D3 L3). It was the second year running they had finished third in their group.

• They went on to lose to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 (1-1 h, 0-5 a).

• The Matchday 1 win at Zenit was only Club Brugge's second victory in their last 21 fixtures in the UEFA Champions League proper (D7 L12), both wins coming away from home.

• Club Brugge have lost only one of their last six away matches in the UEFA Champions League group stage (W2 D3).

• The Bruges club have won only one of their last 12 fixtures against German clubs, home and away (D3 L8) – that 2003 defeat of Dortmund. The 0-0 draw at Dortmund in November 2018 ended a four-match losing streak in Germany, where Club Brugge have never won (D4 L9).

Links and trivia
• Thomas Meunier was part of the Club Brugge side that won the league title in 2015/16 having lifted the Belgian Cup the previous season. He was at the club between 2011 and 2016, scoring 19 goals in 198 appearances in all competitions.

• Meunier's team-mates at Club Brugge included Brandon Mechele, Ruud Vormer and Hans Vanaken; Vormer and Vanaken were part of the title-winning squad in 2016.

• Meunier also represented Virton (2006–11) at both youth and senior level in Belgium, and was a youth-team player at Standard Liège between 2004 and 2006.

• Have also played in Belgium:
Axel Witsel (Standard Liège 1999–2011)
Thorgan Hazard (Zulte Waregem 2012–14 loan)

• Hazard scored Zulte Waregem's winner in a 2-1 league play-off defeat of Club Brugge on 12 April 2014.

• Witsel scored in Standard's 3-1 home win against Club Brugge on 8 November 2009 and got the only goal in Liège on 7 May 2011.

• Thomas Delaney scored Copenhagen's second goal in a 4-0 defeat of Club Brugge in Denmark in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Mats Hummels (first leg, 1-1) and Marco Reus (second leg, 3-4) both scored past Simon Mignolet in Dortmund's meeting with Liverpool in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League quarter-final, although it was the English side who progressed.

• International team-mates:
Thomas Meunier, Axel Witsel, Thorgan Hazard & Simon Mignolet, Brandon Mechele, Hans Vanaken, Charles De Ketelaere (Belgium)

Latest news
Dortmund
• Jude Bellingham became the youngest Englishman to play in the UEFA Champions League on Matchday 1, aged 17 years 113 days.

• Bellingham scored on his BVB debut in Duisburg, becoming the club's youngest ever scorer aged 17 years 77 days.

• On 30 September BVB lost 3-2 in the German Super Cup at Bayern München.

• Dortmund's record in this season's Bundesliga is W6 L2. They succumbed 3-2 at home to Bayern München on 7 November before Saturday's 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin.

• Erling Braut Haaland scored four goals on Saturday, making it 23 in 22 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund.

• Haaland is the joint leading scorer in the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League with four goals.

• Youssoufa Moukoko came on as a late substitute for Haaland at Hertha; aged 16 years 1 day, he is the youngest player ever to appear in the Bundesliga.

• Bellingham, who had become England's youngest Under-21 debutant and scorer in a 6-0 win in Kosovo in UEFA European Championship qualifying on 4 September aged 17 years 67 days, made his senior England debut as a substitute in a 3-0 friendly win against the Republic of Ireland on 12 November. Aged 17 years 136 days, he is the third youngest player to represent England after Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.

• Jadon Sancho scored for England against Ireland.

• Giovanni Reyna made his USA debut in a goalless friendly draw in Wales on 12 November. Four days later he scored his first goal in a 6-2 friendly win against Panama in Austria.

• Thomas Delaney won his 50th cap for Denmark in their 4-2 defeat by Belgium in the UEFA Nations League on 18 November.

• Reinier scored for Brazil's Under-23 side in a 3-1 win against South Korea's U23s on 14 November in Egypt.

• Nico Schulz suffered a muscle injury in Germany's 3-3 friendly draw against Turkey on 7 October and has not played since for Dortmund. He returned as a substitute in Germany's 1-0 friendly win against the Czech Republic on 11 November and also came off the bench for Dortmund at Hertha on Saturday.

• Emre Can, who was suspended for Dortmund's first two Group F games, played 76 minutes on Saturday having not featured since 17 October due to illness.

• Dan-Axel Zagadou has been sidelined since August by a knee injury, but he returned to team training during the recent international break.

Club Brugge
• Club Brugge have won eight of their 13 league games this season (D2 L3), including Saturday's 1-0 home victory against Kortrijk.

• That and the 3-1 win at Oostende on 8 November have made it three victories in Club Brugge's last eight matches in all competitions (D3 L2).

• Top scorer Krépin Diatta has six goals in the league this season, one more than Hans Vanaken. Noa Lang, who got the only goal on Saturday, is one of four players on three.

• Charles De Ketelaere made his senior international debut as a late substitute in Belgium's 2-1 friendly win against Switzerland on 11 November.

• Matej Mitrović has a heel problem and has not played since the 5-0 loss at Manchester United in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg on 27 February.

• Federico Ricca, whose last appearance came on 24 October, has been sidelined by injury.

• Eduard Sobol has been out with illness since 16 November.