Borussia Dortmund will go head to head with an English opponent in the knockout stages of a European competition for the seventh time in club history. A place in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League will be at stake in the matches against Tottenham Hotspur, to be played on 13 February and 5 March 2019. The board believes that the chances of going through are ''50-50.'' The club's overall record against English clubs is every bit as evenly matched.

In their illustrious history of competing in Europe, BVB have been knocked out by teams from the home of football a total of three times, with the Black and Yellows prevailing on three other occasions: against West Ham United in 1966, Manchester United in 1997 and Tottenham Hotspur in 2016. The head-to-head record against the team who are currently placed third in the Premier League (the same position they finished in last season) is also completely evenly matched: in the four matches played between the two sides, each side has won two and lost two. The goal balance is slightly in BVB's favour at 7:6

"Every single match in the knockout stage of the Champions League is a hard one," said Hans-Joachim Watzke of the draw, going on to comment: ''The odds are 50-50 from where I'm standing."

Tottenham reached the round of 16 after coming second in Group B behind Barcelona. Their overall record was 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. "They came away from Barcelona with a 1-1 draw - that tells you all you need to know," said Lucien Favre. The 1-1 was enough to secure second place ahead of Inter Milan, who finished with the same number of points.

"We could have got an easier draw, but then again it could have been a bit more difficult. In any case it's a really interesting tie," said Michael Zorc. "I think it's a pretty even match-up." The fact that the team from London got the better of BVB in both group stage matches in last year's edition of the Champions League is of little importance according to the sporting director, because: "We have a completely different team and a new coach in the dugout." One may therefore be more inclined to think back to the Europa League tie in 2015/16, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (3 goals) and Marco Reus (2 goals) were on target to fire Borussia to two victories over Spurs (3-0 and 2-1).

It's not yet clear whether or not the first-leg will be played at Wembley Stadium or at "New White Hart Lane." The second-leg will take place on Tuesday 5 March. Kick-off in Signal Iduna Park is 21.00 CET. Watzke: "We want to go through!"
Boris Rupert