Borussia Dortmund travel to the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy to take on Bologna in a 2024/25 UEFA Champions League league phase fixture.
An interesting match-up awaits as Bologna host last season’s Champions League finalists with Borussia Dortmund set for the Last 16 while the hosts are 33rd in the 36-team table.
This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between these two clubs and it is a unique chance to write history.
In Thiago Motta’s first full season at the club, Bologna enjoyed a fantastic campaign as they finished fifth in Serie A with a record 68 points. That achievement also meant they returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1964/65, and they are hungry for more this term.
The Rossoblu have been taken over by Vincenzo Italiano who led them to a goalless draw with Shakhtar Donetsk on the opening day of the Champions League campaign. That was followed by consecutive 2-0 defeats at Liverpool and Aston Villa, then a lone-goal loss to Monaco.
In fact, Bologna had to wait until the 2-1 loss to Lille on Matchday 5 to score their first goal, as they are now five points adrift of the knockout playoff places. Hence, they need maximum points from all their remaining games to reach the knockout rounds.
While Italiano’s men must be more ruthless in front of goal to achieve the seemingly impossible, they are showing signs of improvement in Serie A after a slow start to the season.
Their most recent league game saw Bologna let a two-goal lead slip to draw against a Juventus side managed by their former boss, Motta. Meanwhile, they are now up to eighth in the league and have advanced to the Coppa Italia quarter-final.
In the final home game of the league stage, Bologna will be fired up and there is no better gift to their fans than an inspired performance against last season’s runners-up.
Dortmund are coming off an eventful season where they finished fifth in a disappointing Bundesliga campaign but reached the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in eleven years, losing 2–0 to Real Madrid.
Borussia Dortmund had sold star player Jude Bellingham but their history of near misses continued, hence, they will be keen on tangible success this term.
Nuri Sahin replaced Edin Terzic at the helm and he started the season with four unbeaten games in all competitions until the heavy 5-1 defeat to Stuttgart. Dortmund attempted to dust themselves down with consecutive wins, including a 7-1 thrashing of Celtic, but losses to Union Berlin, Real Madrid, Augsburg and Wolfsburg in all competitions destabilised them a bit.
Die Schwarzgelben stopped the rot with a 4-0 win over Freiburg and a 3-0 defeat of Dinamo Zagreb, then stayed unbeaten with draws against Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Dortmund are now fourth in the Champions League standings and remain on course for an automatic place in the Round of 16, while they sit sixth in the Bundesliga after 13 matches, just three points behind the top four but 12 adrift of league leaders Bayern Munich.
Despite their underwhelming outings domestically, BVB are enjoying fantastic fortunes in Europe and they shouldn’t have problems defeating Bologna.
This would undoubtedly be a tough trip, but they must focus on earning a decent result to keep them in a confident mood ahead of the knockout stage.
Match tickets
This Champions League matchday 7 fixture takes place on Tuesday, 21 January 2025 with kick-off scheduled for 8 PM UK time. Match tickets are now available for sale on the website of each individual club and priority access is given to club members and season ticket holders.
This game will take place at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara with a capacity crowd of around 36,000 people expected to fill the stands. Dortmund are one of the most recognisable teams across European football and they will bring a sizeable contingent to this final away trip of their league phase campaign.
Given that tickets may be hard to purchase on official sources, supporters can find their Bologna vs Borussia Dortmund tickets on a resale site. Non-season ticket holders can also reserve any Bologna tickets for the 2024/25 season.
Team news
Riccardo Orsolini is out with a thigh strain and Bologna’s biggest threat would be desperate to take to the field against Dortmund.
He will be joined by Michel Aebischer and Charalampos Lykogiannis as well as long-term absentees Nicolo Cambiaghi and Oussama El Azzouzi on the sidelines.
For the Germans, Karim Adeyemi is sidelined with a hamstring injury and he is joined by Niklas Sule, Maximilian Beier and Waldemar Anton while Julian Brandt is a doubt.
Line-ups
Colombian defender Jhon Lucumi has been one of Bologna’s most important players in this season’s competition as he scored their only goal so far and also made the most interceptions, completed the most passes, made the most clearances and won the most aerial duels for his side.
Elsewhere, the attack should be led by Santiago Castro who has registered five goals and six assists in all competitions this season. The 20-year-old will have a big job up front for the Rossoblu, and he must provide a reliable focal point for his team.
Bologna: Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Pobega; Ndoye, Ferguson, Dominguez; Castro
Serhou Guirassy will be looking to provide a clinical presence for Dortmund as the central striker, while Pascal Gross is deployed in midfield alongside Emre Can or Felix Nmecha.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Can, Gross; Malen, Sabitzer, Gittens; Guirassy
Prediction
Dortmund have been very good in the competition and they will have their sights set on winning this comfortably to keep their confidence high. For Bologna, their lack of a cutting edge could cost them here as they have struggled to find the ruthlessness needed in Europe’s elite club competition.
BVB are favourites to win this but they must be wary of a motivated home side.
Bologna 1-2 Borussia Dortmund