Borussia Dortmund's UEFA Champions League season will get underway with a trip to Istanbul to play Besiktas (Wednesday, 18:45 CET). Here are the match facts. 

Match facts

  • The two sides are going head-to-head in Europe for the first time in 32 years. The only previous match-up was in the first round of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1989/90, when Borussia won 1-0 in Turkey thanks to a goal from Frank Mill. BVB then won the second leg in Dortmund 2-1, with goals from Martin Driller and Jürgen Wegmann. 
  • Besiktas striker Michy Batshuayi was loaned out to Borussia Dortmund for the second half of the 2017/18 season. During his time in Germany he scored seven goals in ten Bundesliga matches and also netted twice in four UEFA Europa League appearances. 

Besiktas facts

  • The Turkish giants are participating in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since 2017/18. This is their eighth all-time appearance in the competition. The only Turkish club with more appearances to their name are Galatasaray, with 16. 
  • Back in 2017/18, Besiktas managed to finish unbeaten in a group with Porto, Leipzig and Monaco, reaching the last 16 for the first and only time. They were then knocked out by Bayern Munich, losing 5-0 away and 3-1 at home. 
  • Their biggest success dates back to the 1986/87 season, when they reached the quarter-finals of the old European Cup. 
  • Last season saw Besiktas claim their 16th Turkish league title (their third in the last six seasons) and complete the double for the first time since 2008/09. 
  • Besiktas have picked up ten points from their first four matches of the new season. They are the only team in the SüperLig that are yet to concede a goal (they've scored seven).  
  • Batshuayi grabbed his first two goals for the club in their 3-0 home win over Malatyaspor.
  • The club have won just one of their last six home games in Europe. Four of these matches ended in defeat. 
  • Their record against German teams is poor, with two wins, one draw and eight losses. The only success was a 2-0 win away to Leipzig in 2017/18. 
  • Of the current squad, Bozdogan, Töre (both Cologne), Oktay (Hagen), Karaman (Stuttgart) and Yalcin (Düsseldorf) were all born in Germany.

Borussia facts

  • BVB have not conceded a goal in their previous four away games in Turkey - against Besiktas in 1989 and against Galatasaray in 1997, 2000 and 2014 - recording three wins and a draw. The final scores read 1-0, 1-0, 0-0 and 4-0 respectively.
  • The most recent trip to Istanbul ended in a 4-0 win over Galatasaray in the group stage of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League. The third goal was scored by Marco Reus.
  • The top scorer in the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League was BVB's Erling Haaland (ten goals).
  • This is BVB's 16th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, which is going into its 30th season. The Black & Yellows have reached the knock-out round 11 times. (br)