Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting CP facts

Borussia Dortmund have one foot in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 as they take on Sporting CP in the second leg of their knockout phase play-off holding a three-goal advantage.

Sporting have never won either a knockout tie in Champions League or a European tie against a Bundesliga club and goals in Lisbon on 11 February from Serhou Guirassy (60), Pascal Gross (68) and Karim Adeyemi (82) have left them with it all to do in Germany.

Previous meetings

Matches 5
Sporting wins 1
Dortmund wins 4
Draws 0
Sporting goals 4
Dortmund goals 8

2016/17 Champions League group stage
Sporting CP 1-2 Dortmund
Dortmund 1-0 Sporting CP
First-half goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Julian Weigl gave Dortmund victory in Lisbon on Matchday 3 despite Bruno César's reply, while an early Adrián Ramos strike was the only goal in Dortmund on Matchday 4.

2021/22 Champions League group stage
Dortmund 1-0 Sporting CP
Sporting CP 3-1 Dortmund
Dortmund's Donyell Malen scored the only goal on Matchday 2 and was also on target in Lisbon on Matchday 5 – but that was a 93rd-minute consolation after goals from Pedro Gonçalves (31, 39) and Pedro Porro (81), the latter after Gonçalves' penalty had been saved by Gregor Kobel. Dortmund's Emre Can was dismissed in the 74th minute.

Form guide

Dortmund

Record vs Portuguese clubs: W10 D0 L5 F27 A12
Home record vs Portuguese clubs: W7 D0 L0

Dortmund's 2021 games against Sporting were their last with a club from Portugal before this tie.

BVB lost three of their first five matches against Portuguese sides (W2) but their 2021 defeat by Sporting is one of only two in their subsequent ten (W8).

The 2021 defeat of Sporting made it seven wins from seven games against Portuguese visitors, with clean sheets in the last four. Dortmund have scored 18 goals in those seven matches, conceding only two.

Dortmund had not played a knockout fixture against a Portuguese side since the 2016/17 Champions League round of 16, when they beat Benfica 4-1 on aggregate (0-1 a, 4-0 h) to make it three wins from three ties against clubs from Portugal.

BVB are in the Champions League proper for the 19th time overall and the ninth successive season. In 2023/24 a team coached by Edin Terzić reached Dortmund's third European Cup final, losing 2-0 to Real Madrid at Wembley.

Dortmund have won ten of their last 20 home European games (D6 L4), the 7-1 Matchday 2 defeat of Celtic their biggest home Champions League victory. They have won three of their four matches this season, a 2-3 defeat by Barcelona ending a 14-game unbeaten home run that included ten wins.

European champions in 1997 and runners-up in 2013 and 2024, Dortmund have been eliminated in the last 16 in three of their last six Champions League campaigns.

Of the 16 UEFA competition ties in which they won the first leg away, Dortmund have triumphed on aggregate 15 times, most recently against Sevilla in the 2020/21 Champions League round of 16 (3-2 a, 2-2 h). Their sole previous 3-0 away first-leg win came against Universitatea Craiova in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup second round (1-0 h).

Dortmund's record in UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
6-5 v Auxerre, 1992/93 UEFA Cup semi-final
3-1 v Rangers, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup third round
2-4 v Club Brugge, 2003/04 Champions League third qualifying round
3-4 v Udinese, 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round

Sporting CP

Record vs German clubs: W4 D6 L22 F28 A60
Away record vs German clubs: W1 D1 L14

Sporting have already lost in Germany this season, going down 2-1 at Leipzig on Matchday 7.

They had been paired with Bundesliga opponents in the 2022/23 group stage, winning 3-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt but losing 1-2 at home on Matchday 6 to bow out of the competition.

Sporting have two victories in their last five fixtures against German clubs, as many as they managed in their first 27.

The win at Eintracht was Sporting's first in Germany on their 15th visit and ended a run of seven successive defeats. A 0-0 draw at Bayern München in the 2006/07 group stage is the only other game away to German opposition in which Sporting avoided defeat, with 36 goals conceded in those 16 matches.

This is Sporting's first knockout tie against Bundesliga opponents since a 1-4 aggregate loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League round of 32. The Lions have lost all seven of their two-legged ties against German clubs; indeed, they are yet to win a knockout match (D4 L11).

Sporting are making their 11th appearance in the Champions League proper, and a third in four seasons.

This is only Sporting's third Champions League knockout tie, the first two ending in heavy round of 16 defeats by Bayern München in 2008/09 (0-5 h, 1-7 a) – that 12-1 aggregate scoreline still a competition record – and Manchester City in 2021/22 (0-5 h, 0-0 a).

The Matchday 7 defeat at Leipzig was Sporting's fifth in their last 16 away European games (W5 D6) – although a second in succession.

Sporting have lost the first leg of a UEFA competition tie at home on 13 previous occasions, most recently against Manchester City in 2021/22, and only once have they gone on to win on aggregate – against Brøndby in the 2010/11 Europa League qualifying play-offs (0-2 h, 3-0 a). This is the first time the home first leg has finished 0-3.

Sporting's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
3-5 v Dinamo Minsk, 1984/85 UEFA Cup second round
3-4 v Napoli, 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round
5-3 v Arsenal, 2022/23 Europa League round of 16

Links and trivia

Has played in Portugal:
Yan Couto (Braga 2021/22 loan)

Have played in Germany:
Jeremiah St. Juste (Mainz 2019–22)
Eduardo Quaresma (Hoffenheim 2022/23 loan)
Viktor Gyökeres (St. Pauli 2019/20 loan)

Have played together:
Daniel Svensson & Conrad Harder (Nordsjælland 2022–24)
Julien Duranville & Zeno Debast (Anderlecht 2022/23)

International team-mates:
Daniel Svensson & (Sweden)
Julien Duranville & Zeno Debast (Belgium)

Latest news

Dortmund

On Saturday two goals in three first-half minutes condemned Dortmund to a 2-0 loss at Bochum, their fifth defeat in seven Bundesliga matches (W1 D1).

Niko Kovač's first game as Dortmund coach ended in a 1-2 loss at home to Stuttgart on 8 February.

Dortmund had been unbeaten in three games, all under Under-19 coach Mike Tullberg (W2 D1).

BVB had parted company with Nuri Şahin after the defeat at Bologna on Matchday 7 having lost four successive games and won only one of nine (D3 L5).

Serhou Guirassy, who has 25 goals in 33 games for club and country this season, scored six in his last seven games.

Niklas Süle, who had been sidelined by an ankle injury since 7 December, returned as a substitute in Lisbon and started on Saturday.

Having made his Dortmund debut as a late substitute at Sporting, Carney Chukwuemeka sat out Saturday's defeat with a knee injury.

Ramy Bensebaini has missed the last two games with a muscular problem.

Felix Nmecha has been out since 25 January with a knee injury.

Sporting CP

Portuguese Liga leaders Sporting were held 2-2 at home by Arouca on Saturday to make it one win in five games in all competitions (D3 L1).

Substitute Conrad Harder scored their first goal, his third in five matches.

On 7 February Sporting conceded a 94th-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 at third-placed Porto.

Viktor Gyökeres has ten goals in his last 15 games having finished 2024 with 62 goals in 63 games for club and country, ahead of Erling Haaland (49) and Harry Kane (46).

The Sweden striker has 43 goals in 41 appearances for club and country this season, including five hat-tricks, although he has not scored for four matches.

Daniel Bragança ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Saturday.

Jeremiah St. Juste also went off injured in the first 15 minutes against Arouca.

Hidemasa Morita is expected to be out for a month after suffering another muscle problem in the first leg against Dortmund.

Geny Catamo has missed the last three games with an ankle injury.

Nuno Santos (out since 26 October, knee) and Pedro Gonçalves (10 November, thigh) have both been sidelined.