Pre-Match Report
Match facts for the trip to Bologna
The scenario: After two draws and four defeats, FC Bologna are in 33rd place among the 36 participants and only have a remote chance of finishing 24th and thus reaching the play-offs for the round of 16. BVB are in ninth place on 12 points with six of eight games played. The top eight teams go straight through to the round of 16. All of the teams in third to eighth place have 13 points to their name.
Head-to-head record: 39 of Borussia's 305 matches in European competitions to date have been against teams from Italy - more than any other nation. The overall result is 12 wins, seven draws and 20 defeats. This is the first direct clash between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bologna.
Borussia facts: The Black & Yellows have won two of their previous three away games in the current competition: in Bruges (3-0) and Zagreb (2-0). Last season, BVB won in Newcastle (1-0), Milan (3-1) and Paris (1-0), meaning that their record in the last 30 Champions League away games is almost balanced (13 wins, four draws, 14 defeats). Only two of the last eight away games have ended in defeat, both in Madrid (2-1 to Atletico, 5-2 to Real). Last season's 3-1 win away to AC Milan snapped a run of four defeats and one draw in away games against Serie A clubs.
Bologna facts: The club have won the Italian title seven times (most recently in 1964), the cup twice (most recently in 1974), the UEFA Intertoto Cup once (1998) and are participating in the UEFA Champions League for the first time. They picked up points in their 0-0 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk and 0-0 draw away to Benfica in Lisbon. Their only goal in the competition so far came in a 2-1 home defeat against Lille on Matchday 5. The club's greatest success in European competition was reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1999. This season, Bologna currently occupy seventh place in Serie A (eight wins, nine draws, three defeats). Of the 13 home games in all competitions this campaign, they have won five and lost three. The trend is positive with four wins (one draw, one defeat) from the last six games at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (capacity of 36,462).
Europe's elite: This is Bologna's first ever participation in the UEFA Champions League, while BVB are taking part for the ninth consecutive season and 19th time overall (only 09 clubs have participated in more editions). Borussia have reached the knockout stages in nine of their last 11 attempts and have made it to the final on three occasions overall (winners in 1997, runners-up in 2013 and 2024).
Compiled by Boris Rupert