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After losing 3-0 in the first leg Dortmund will be eager to at least save some pride with a good result, but yet again Jurgen Klopp`s side is ravaged by injuries, making it hard for them to challenge a team like Real Madrid.
Dortmund did not manage to repeat last years` stellar season so far. The hosts are virtually out of the Champions League and already lost the Bundesliga title, 20 points behind Bayern. Indeed, Dortmund is second in the table, but only because Leverkusen is in horrific form lately. In their defense, Dortmund had so many injuries this season, it was a disaster, especially at the back, missing 6-7 defenders at a time, so there`s not much you can do in these conditions – unfortunately for Borussia they will have the same issues today. Regarding form, Dortmund managed to get back on track recently with 3 wins and 1 draw and 1 loss in the last 5 games in all competitions, also winning 2-1 against Wolfsburg last round.
Real is on a roll right now after the devastating consecutive losses against Barcelona and Sevilla a couple of weeks ago. “Los Blancos” have now won their last 3 games with an aggregate score of 12-0, including an impressive 4-0 win at strong Sociedad this weekend. Surely Real is one of the biggest favorites to win this years` Champions League and are still on track in the Primera Division, despite the loss vs. Barcelona hurt them badly.
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Team news & lineups
Again a depleted squad for Dortmund: Gundogan, Bender, Subotic, Kehl, Blaszczykowski and Bandowski are all out, while Weidenfeller, Reus, Sokratis and Sahin are doubtful, but should be able to at least make the squad. Real Madrid has Bale and Ronaldo highly doubtful, while Khedira, Arbeola, Jese and Marcelo are definitely out.
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Hummels, Papastathopoulos, Durm – Grosskreutz, Jojic, Sahin – Reus, Mkhitaryan, Lewandowski
Real Madrid: Casillas – Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrao – Modric, Alonso, Illarramendi – Di Maria, Benzema, Isco
Maybe a little bit surprising, but my tip here will be Benzema to score at anytime. Dortmund needs to attack in this game and knowing Klopp`s philosophy, there`s no doubt Borussia will push forwars even with the risk of conceding. Their patched up defense will make it even easier for Real to score chances. With Bale and Ronaldo highly doubtful for this game, Benzema is the only sure thing up front for Real so it`s only natural to be considered the main threat for Dortmund`s defense (which he`s not – odds for Ronaldo anytime goalscorer are lower for now). The frenchman has played excellent football lately but did not get himself on the scoresheet since scoring a double against Barca, so it seems like the perfect time for him to get back to scoring given the circumstances. Hopefully both Bale and Ronaldo will be on the bench, so Karim would become the go-to-guy, and with all the spaces Real will have he is bound to have some solid chances. Regarding the match outcome, over 3 goals seems like the best bet here, maybe 1x but it`s too risky for odds of 1.75. Pick Karim Benzema to score in this encounter. Prediction: Borussia Dortmund – Real Madrid 2-2.
Pick: Benzema anytime goalscorer
Odds: 2.75 @ William Hill
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 10.5
Event date: 8 April
