Already out of contention for a last-16 place, Borussia Dortmund welcome eliminated Besiktas to the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday, in the Champions League.
While Dortmund will finish third in Group C, and enter the Europa League playoffs regardless of the result, their Turkish counterparts are destined for fourth following a pointless first five matchdays.
Match preview
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First-half goals from Jude Bellingham and the irrepressible Erling Haaland may have proved enough for Dortmund to beat Besiktas 2-1 on the opening night of their Group C campaign, but after going on to win their second fixture too, the Bundesliga outfit have lost the last three to slump out of the Champions League.
All that remains is a dead rubber against the same opponents they kicked off against back in September, after their hopes of progress were ended by a 3-1 defeat at Sporting last month. That result saw the Portuguese champions confirmed as runners-up, behind runaway leaders Ajax.
BVB have therefore lost three successive matches in a Champions League campaign for the first time, and their 16th participation in Europe's elite competition will come to an end this week - with a Europa League playoff tie awaiting early next year.
Such a set of circumstances will dishearten the German club's passionate fanbase, who saw their team top their group last year despite Lucien Favre's reign coming to a miserable end.
Still without a draw this season, hit-or-miss Dortmund are an unpredictable proposition under Favre's eventual successor, current coach Marco Rose, and have won 12 of their last 18 matches - losing the other six.
Dortmund's streak of home league wins was also ended on Saturday, when they were controversially beaten 3-2 by league leaders Bayern Munich, having previously set a new club record by posting seven successive Bundesliga victories on home turf.
By contrast, Die Schwarzgelben have won only nine of their last 21 European outings in their own stadium, so Rose will expect to improve that modest record against ailing opponents this week.
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Amid an ongoing crisis of confidence, Besiktas are the only side in the Champions League this year still without a point ahead of the final matchday. With rivals Fenerbahce, back in 2001, being the only Turkish club to have lost six from six in the group stage, they will therefore want to avoid such a fate on Tuesday.
Following their 2-1 reverse at home to Ajax last month, the Black Eagles have lost their last eight Champions League matches, qualifying included, since a memorable showing four years ago, when they won their section unbeaten.
Champions of Turkey for the 16th time last spring - their third title in six years - Besiktas currently languish in ninth place in the Super Lig standings, 18 points adrift of unbeaten leaders Trabzonspor.
Under-pressure coach Sergen Yalcin saw his side draw 1-1 at Kasimpasa on Friday, ending a run of six successive defeats in all competitions, but leaving them winless since beating another struggling giant, Galatasaray, in October.
Ten losses from their last 13 outings - including a recent 4-0 humbling at the hands of lowly Giresunspor - have seen Besiktas tailspin towards mid-table after a decent start to their domestic title defence.
Yalcin has come under scrutiny for naming 18 different starting XIs in 20 games this season, and though they can only finish bottom whatever their midweek result, he will need to sign off from European competition on a positive note in order to fight off calls for his head.
That will prove no easy task, as not only do Dortmund have a fine recent record on home soil, Besiktas have lost each of their last six European matches outside Istanbul.
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Team News
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Erling Haaland, who had not featured since mid-October due to a hip injury, returned to score as a substitute at Wolfsburg and then found the target against Bayern on Saturday, so should be fit to start if required. With 72 in 71 games for the club all told, this season the Norwegian striker has registered 15 in 12 games across for Dortmund.
However, Marco Rose may opt to rest his main man in this effectively meaningless match, ahead of the trip to Bochum on Saturday. Donyell Malen would then come in up front.
While teenager Youssoufa Moukoko remains out with a muscular injury and Thorgan Hazard has missed the last three games with COVID-19, both Raphael Guerreiro and Jude Bellingham returned from injury against Bayern. Giovanni Reyna is also back in contention following a thigh injury and could be involved from the bench.
Besiktas, meanwhile, have been beset by a series of injury absences this season, and Gokhan Tore remains on the sidelines with a knee problem, while goalkeeper Mert Gunok damaged the cruciate ligament in his knee last month and now misses the remainder of the season. Therefore, Ersin Destanoglu should start between the visitors' posts.
Sergen Yalcin's plans took a further blow when playmaker Alex Teixeira suffered a thigh injury against Giresunspor and the Brazilian remains a doubt for Tuesday's game. Young German midfielder Can Bozdogan could therefore start again, after the Schalke loanee registered his first professional goal on Friday.
Up front for the recently goal-shy side should be Canadian striker Cyle Larin, who scored twice in the Black Eagles' last win, over a month ago, and is level with Michy Batshuayi on four goals as the club's Super Lig top scorer.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Meunier, Zagadou, Hummels, Schulz; Bellingham, Witsel, Dahoud; Wolf, Reus, Malen
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Destanoglu; Uysal, Vida, Welinton, Meras; Pjanic, Topal, Bozdogan; Karaman, Batshuayi, Larin
We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Besiktas
Though their Champions League campaign has faltered - and defeat in Der Klassiker was another sucker punch at the weekend - Dortmund have scored freely this season and should prise open a flimsy Besiktas rearguard on several occasions.
The Turkish champions' slump shows little sign of coming to an end too, so they will finish the group stage without a point - allowing them to return their thoughts to domestic concerns.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Borussia Dortmund win with a probability of 58.67%. A draw had a probability of 21% and a win for Besiktas had a probability of 20.31%.
The most likely scoreline for a Borussia Dortmund win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.88%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.77%) and 1-0 (8.55%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.63%), while for a Besiktas win it was 1-2 (5.43%). The actual scoreline of 5-0 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Borussia Dortmund would win this match.
