The UEFA Champions League 2013 semi-final second leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will kick off in a few hours, Wednesday night. They will play at Dortmund's home ground German Signal Iduna Park.
The game will kick off at 12:15 AM IST (Thursday, 25 April), and will be telecast live on Ten Action.
Overview:
Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League semi-final without losing any game this season; in fact the only undefeated team. They won six of the 10 matches played and drew four. They defeated Real Madrid at home and drew the away fixture in the group stage.
There are possibilities of an all-German final, as Beryern Munich thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in the semi-final first leg. Jurgen Klopp's side will be keen to book a place in the final.
Real Madrid's route to the semi-final is not as impressive as Borussia Dortmund. Of the 10 matches played this season, they won five games, drew three and lost two.
Their performance in La Liga has been disappointing but Jose Mourinho will be keen to win a third Champions League trophy before he ends his stint with the team. They lost to Bayern Munich in the semi-final last session and will be looking forward to meet them again in the final.
Previous Meetings:
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid met on two occasions in the group stage this season and the former was the clear winner. Borussia Dortmund beat the Spanish champions 2-1 at home and drew 2-2 at the Bernabeu.
Team News:
Borussia Dortmund: Jurgen Klopp has full strength line-up with players, who were kept out of the previous matches due to injuries, are available for Wednesday's game. Robert Lewandowski, Sebastian Kehl, and Sven Bender have recovered from injuries and would be featured against the Spanish giants. All eyes will be on Mario Gotze who will move to Bayern Munich this summer.
Real Madrid: Luka Modric and Marcelo Vieira will miss the semi-final match due to injury while Alvaro Arbeloa is serving suspension. Angel Di Maria is also doubtful for Wednesday's match following his wife's delivery. Xabi Alonso, who was out of action serving a suspension last weekend, will return to the team. Michael Essien and Fabio Coentrao have recovered from injuries and are available for selection.
Prediction:
Real Madrid are formidable team with star players but Borussia Dortmund are favourite to win on Wednesday.
Probable Line-Ups:
Borussia Dortmund: Roman Weidenfeller; Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Marcel Schmelzer; Ilkay Gundogan, Sven Bender; Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Kevin Groskreutz; Robert Lewandowski
Real Madrid: Diego Lopez; Raphael Varane, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao; Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso; Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo; Karim Benzema
