Runners-up last season, Borussia Dortmund begin their latest quest to reclaim the Champions League trophy on Wednesday, when they visit Club Brugge at Jan Breydel Stadium.
While BVB came agonisingly close to European glory last term, Brugge missed out on qualification and now eagerly anticipate the competition's new-look league phase.
Match preview
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Although they ultimately fell just short at Wembley, memorable wins in Newcastle, Milan and Paris took Borussia Dortmund all the way to a third Champions League final last season, with only mighty Real Madrid stopping them from celebrating a surprise success in London.
Under boyhood BVB fan Edin Terzic, they finished first in the so-called 'group of death', before beating PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid to tee up a second meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
Although they turned heads in Europe, Dortmund could only finish fifth in the Bundesliga, some 27 points behind unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen - the club's worst domestic performance since 2015.
However, partly thanks to their own Champions League run boosting Germany's UEFA coefficient and earning five automatic places, they are now back in the tournament for a ninth successive season.
All but two of their last 11 campaigns have seen Die Schwarzgelben feature in the knockout rounds, so that will be their minimum aim under new boss Nuri Sahin, who replaced Terzic as head coach in the summer.
Aged just 36, the former midfielder will be the youngest coach involved in this year's Champions League, and he comes into Wednesday's opener with an unbeaten record: BVB have posted two wins and one draw from Sahin's first three games following Friday's 4-2 victory over Heidenheim, in which Karim Adeyemi scored twice.
Dortmund will meet familiar opponents in the first of eight league-phase fixtures, as it is the third time they have been paired with Club Brugge in the last seven seasons.
So far, the ledger stands at four wins and one loss from six previous meetings, and the German side have won each of their last four games in Belgium without conceding a single goal.
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While the Champions League's format is changing, Brugge join Dortmund in being part of the furniture in Europe's top club competition: they are featuring at this stage for the sixth time in seven seasons.
The Blauw-Zwart missed out last term, though, just one year after finally reaching the knockout phase, where they were thumped by Benfica in the last 16.
Their reward for winning the Belgian Pro League last season was a tough draw this time around, as AC Milan and Manchester City are also among their upcoming opponents.
With eight points estimated to be sufficient for a place in the playoffs, there is everything to play for, particularly after enjoying a deep run through UEFA's third-tier competition in 2023-24.
In the Europa Conference League, Club Brugge came through through three qualifiers and then won five of six group games, before seeing off Molde and PAOK in the knockout rounds; however, Fiorentina then won by the odd goal in seven over the course of a close-fought semi-final tie.
Brugge were unbeaten at home in Europe last season, and strong form at Jan Breydel Stadium also helped them become champions of Belgium for the 19th time, securing a fourth league title in five years.
After leading them to top spot, Nicky Hayen's interim role was made permanent during the summer, and his team are currently top of the table again, having won four of their first seven matches - including at Kortrijk last week, when Hans Vanaken scored twice in a 3-0 success.
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Team News
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After summer signing Serhou Guirassy made his first Borussia Dortmund start last time out, having recovered from a knee injury sustained while on international duty, the Guinea striker will vie with Maximilian Beier to feature up front in midweek.
It has been a scintillating start to September for another BVB forward, Karim Adeyemi, who not only scored five goals in two games for Germany Under-21s but then bagged a Bundesliga brace on Friday evening.
Brazilian full-back Yan Couto was forced to withdraw from the Brazil squad due to injury but returned as a substitute against Heidenheim; however; USA star Gio Reyna could miss out again because of a groin problem.
Meanwhile, Kyriani Sabbe is back from injury for Club Brugge, but Bjorn Meijer and Casper Nielsen are still on the sidelines.
Danish winger Andreas Skov Olsen is the hosts' top scorer this season on three goals, while teenager Chemsdine Talbi has broken into the squad and scored as a substitute at the weekend.
Captain Hans Vanaken - the Blau-Zwart's top appearance maker in the Champions League (38) - was directly involved in seven goals during their run to last term's Conference League semi-finals, scoring six of his own and providing one assist.
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Seys, Mechele, Ordonez, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Vetlesen; Skov Olsen, Vanaken, Tzolis; Nilsson
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Couto, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Can, Gross; Malen, Brandt, Adeyemi; Guirassy
We say: Club Brugge 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund kept the most clean sheets in last season's Champions League (six), but Club Brugge have scored freely this term and have a potent front line with which to test their visitors.
The hosts should score, though Dortmund may still leave Belgium with maximum points, having looked pretty solid since Nuri Sahin took over.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
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