Tottenham need home improvement for Dortmund visit

• #EQUALGAME
This week,  football fans watching UEFA Champions League matches in stadiums, online and on TV will witness the premiere of the new UEFA RESPECT TV ads, called #EqualGame. The adverts feature Ada Hegerberg, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and amateur players and will run throughout the season to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility in European Football with the motto "Everyone has the right to enjoy football, no matter who you are, where you're from, or how you play."
More information on the campaign and on the advertisements can be found in the accompanying media release and on the campaign website: www.equalgame.com.

Tottenham Hotspur FC aim to belatedly find their feet at Wembley as they kick off another UEFA Champions League campaign at home to Borussia Dortmund.

• With White Hart Lane being redeveloped, Tottenham are playing all home fixtures at Wembley this term and their UEFA games there for the second season in a row – and having won only once in four European matches at their temporary home in 2016/17, they can ill afford a repeat.

• Dortmund have become used to participating in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds but with holders Real Madrid CF also in Group H, they will recognise the importance of a positive result in north London.

Previous meetings
• Dortmund held sway when these sides met in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League round of 16, winning both legs for a 5-1 aggregate triumph. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus (2) got the goals in a 3-0 first-leg victory in Dortmund before Aubameyang struck twice more at White Hart Lane, Heung-Min Son scoring a consolation for the hosts.

The line-ups at White Hart Lane on 17 March 2016 were:
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies (Rose 13), Dier, Mason, Chadli, Alli (Carroll 70), Lamela (Onomah 74), Son.
Dortmund: Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotić, Papastathopoulos (Durm 54), Schmelzer, Castro, Ginter, Weigl, Mkhitaryan (Kagawa 72), Reus (Pulišić 60), Aubameyang.

Match background

Tottenham
• This is Tottenham's third time in the group stage and a second foray in as many seasons – the first time in their history they have managed consecutive European Cup campaigns.

• In 2010/11, their UEFA Champions League debut, Tottenham went all the way to the quarter-finals, losing 5-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid. Twelve months ago they came third in their group and moved into the UEFA Europa League, where they fell 3-2 on aggregate to KAA Gent in the round of 32.

• Tottenham took just three points from their three group home games in 2016/17, losing to AS Monaco FC (1-2) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (0-1) before a 3-1 win against PFC CSKA Moskva on matchday six. They were held 2-2 by Gent in the UEFA Europa League and have won only one of their last five European home fixtures.

• Tottenham were unbeaten at home to Bundesliga clubs (W6 D1) before succumbing to Dortmund in 2016; the Leverkusen reverse means they have now lost their last two such matches.

• Mauricio Pochettino's side – 2016/17 Premier League runners-up – were held 0-0 in Leverkusen last term.

Dortmund
• Dortmund, contesting the group stage for the 12th time and a sixth in seven years, have reached the knockout stage on their last four UEFA Champions League appearances. In 2016/17 they beat SL Benfica 4-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, subsequently losing 6-3 to Monaco over two legs (2-3 home, 1-3 away).

• On matchday one 12 months ago Dortmund triumphed 6-0 at Legia Warszawa – their biggest-ever European away success. They also won their next away game, at Sporting Clube de Portugal (2-1), before victory eluded them in their next three on the road, including defeats in the last two.

• Dortmund have been paired with Tottenham's north London rivals Arsenal FC in the group stage on four occasions; they lost three of those away matches but won 2-1 at the Arsenal Stadium on 22 October 2013.

• On Dortmund's last trip to England they let slip 2-0 and 3-1 leads to lose 4-3 at Liverpool FC in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg, going out 5-4 on aggregate. Their record in England is now W4 D1 L6.

Coach and player links
• Davinson Sánchez played under new Dortmund coach Peter Bosz at AFC Ajax in 2016/17.

• Ömer Toprak, Gonzalo Castro and Heung-Min Son were team-mates at Leverkusen between 2013 and 2015.

• Have played in England:
Nuri Şahin (Liverpool FC, 2012/13)
Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United FC, 2012–14)
André Schürrle (Chelsea FC, 2013–15)

• Reus and Mario Götze each scored in Dortmund's 4-1 victory away to an Ajax side featuring Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen in the 2012/13 group stage.

• Kagawa and Jan Vertonghen both struck in Manchester United's 3-2 Premier League loss at home to Tottenham in September 2012.

• Harry Kane and Eric Dier found the net in England's 3-2 friendly win against Germany in March 2016; Götze, Reus and Schürrle played for Germany.

• Eriksen got Denmark's goal in a 1-1 friendly draw with Germany in June 2017.

• Son scored five times in his five matches against Dortmund with Hamburger SV and Leverkusen.

• These clubs have two former players in common: midfielder Steffen Freund went to White Hart Lane from Dortmund in 1998; defender Lee Young-Pyo left Spurs for Dortmund in 2008.

Match facts

Tottenham
• Dele Alli serves the first game of a three-match suspension.

• Having gone through the 2016/17 Premier League campaign unbeaten at home (W17 D2), Spurs lost 2-1 to Chelsea FC in their first match of the season at Wembley. They drew 1-1 with visiting Burnley FC, who equalised in added time, the following weekend.

• The north London club have won just two of 12 games at Wembley (v Chelsea, 2008 English League Cup final; v PFC CSKA Moskva, 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage) since the national stadium reopened in March 2007.

• Academy product Kyle Walker-Peters, who made his senior debut for the club in the 2-0 win at Newcastle United FC on the opening weekend of the season, signed a new contract until 2020 last month.

• Kane is on the 24-strong shortlist to be named The Best FIFA Men's Player 2017. The winner will be announced on 23 October.

• Kane scored twice, taking his international goals tally into double figures, as England defeated Malta 4-0 in the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup on 1 September.

• Vertonghen, Mousa Dembélé and Alderweireld featured in Belgium's 9-0 victory over Gibraltar on 31 August and the 2-1 triumph in Greece three days later, the latter result confirming the Red Devils' qualification for next summer's World Cup. Vertonghen opened the scoring against Greece.

• Eriksen was on target in Denmark's European Qualifiers against Poland (4-0) and Armenia (4-1).

• Son played every minute of South Korea's goalless draws against Iran and Uzbekistan that helped the Taeguk Warriors qualify for the World Cup.

Dortmund
• Dortmund started the season by losing 5-4 on penalties to FC Bayern München in the German Super Cup.

• BVB are yet to concede in three Bundesliga games this term, though their perfect start ended with a draw at SC Freiburg on Saturday – despite the hosts playing with ten men for over an hour.

• The goalless draw ended Aubameyang's run of scoring in eight successive matches for Dortmund in all competitions; he had scored in every match since 29 April.

• Aubameyang is on the 24-strong shortlist to be named The Best FIFA Men's Player 2017. The winner will be announced on 23 October.

• Andriy Yarmolenko registered both goals in Ukraine's 2-0 defeat of Turkey on 2 September.

• New signings Maximilian Philipp, Mahmoud Dahoud and Jeremy Toljan won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Germany in June.

• Erik Durm (muscular problems) and Julian Weigl (ankle) have yet to play this season.

• Marco Reus (out since 27 May, knee) and Raphaël Guerreiro (21 June, broken ankle) are long-term absentees.