Dortmund and Monaco aim to get on front foot

Having both produced blistering attacking displays in the round of 16, Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco FC will be looking to reproduce that form when they meet for the first time.

• Both teams have recent UEFA Champions League quarter-final experience, Dortmund appearing in the last eight in 2013/14 and Monaco last featuring the following season.

• Dortmund and Monaco are each aiming to reach a fourth UEFA Champions League semi-final. Dortmund's last semi-final outing came in 2012/13, when they went on to finish as runners-up to FC Bayern München; Monaco have not been in the last four since losing to FC Porto in the 2004 final.

Match background

Dortmund
• This is Dortmund's eighth European Cup quarter-final, and their third in five years. The German club's last-eight record is W5 L2.

• On their most recent last-eight appearance three seasons ago, Dortmund went down 3-0 in the first leg at Real Madrid CF, subsequently bowing out despite a 2-0 home victory in the return.

• Dortmund have won the last four home legs of their UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

• This is the fourth time in five seasons Dortmund have contested the quarter-finals of a European competition, having lost to Liverpool FC 5-4 on aggregate in last season's UEFA Europa League. Their sole last-eight success in those ties came against Málaga CF in 2012/13 (0-0 a, 3-2 h).

• Since the beginning of last term Dortmund have lost just one of 12 home games (W9 D2) in UEFA competition. That solitary defeat was against PAOK FC on matchday six of last season's UEFA Europa League (0-1). This season they have a draw and three victories, winning their last three home matches.

• Dortmund's record in two-legged ties against French clubs is W3 L1; that lone defeat came in the most recent fixture, against FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup second round (2-6 aggregate).

• Dortmund's record at home to French clubs reads W4 D3 L1. Their last encounter was a 3-0 win against Olympique de Marseille in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage, Marco Reus scoring the second goal, with the single loss inflicted in the previous fixture, at home to the same opponents in December 2011 (2-3).

• The German club have won only two of their last six games at home to French visitors; that 2013 Marseille success is their only victory in the last four. 

Monaco
• Monaco are in the European Cup quarter-finals for the fifth time overall. Their record to date: W2 L2.

• Monaco are making a second UEFA Champions League quarter-final appearance in three seasons. On their last outing in 2015 they beat English opposition on away goals in the round of 16, knocking out Arsenal FC (3-1 a, 0-2 h); this year they repeated the trick at Manchester City FC's expense (3-5 a, 3-1 h).

• Monaco became the ninth team to successfully overcome a two-goal deficit after the first leg of a UEFA Champions League knockout tie and just the third club to achieve the feat twice, after FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC, having also done so against Real Madrid in the 2003/04 quarter-finals (2-4 a, 3-1 h).

• The six goals Monaco conceded against City is the most ever shipped by a victorious side in a UEFA Champions League knockout phase tie. Three clubs had previously exited after scoring five.

• Two seasons ago the Ligue 1 club lost to Juventus at this stage, going down 1-0 in Turin before a 0-0 home draw.

• Monaco were beaten in Germany in this season's group stage, going down 3-0 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on matchday six having drawn 1-1 at home. Overall, Monaco's record away to Bundesliga opponents is W3 D2 L2; the Leverkusen reverse ended a five-game unbeaten run on such trips.

• Monaco's record in two-legged ties with German clubs is W3 L1, having won the last three. This is their first knockout tie against Bundesliga opposition since a 5-0 aggregate triumph against Hamburger SV in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup third round.

• The Ligue 1 team have won two of their six away games in this season's competition, at Villarreal CF in the play-off first leg and at Tottenham Hotspur FC in the group stage, although they have lost the last two.

Coach and player links
• Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played for Monaco in 2010/11 on loan from AC Milan, scoring two goals in 19 Ligue 1 matches.

• Aubameyang also had loan spells at Dijon FCO (2008/09), LOSC Lille (2009/10) and AS Saint-Étienne (2011/11) before signing permanently for St-Étienne in 2011. He scored 37 goals in 87 league appearances for Les Verts, joining Dortmund in 2013.

• Aubameyang was on target in LOSC's 4-0 Ligue 1 win at Monaco on 13 December 2009, and was in the St-Étienne side that drew 1-1 at home to the principality club on 1 May 2011.

• Ousmane Dembélé struck 12 goals in 26 Ligue 1 outings for Stade Rennais FC, leaving for Dortmund last summer. He played in a 1-1 home draw with Monaco on 24 April 2016.

• Raphaël Guerreiro started his career at SM Caen, making 38 Ligue 2 appearances in 2012/13 – including home (3-0) and away (1-0) wins against Monaco – before joining FC Lorient, playing 110 league games between 2013 and 2016. His record against Monaco with Lorient was W2 D1 L2.

• Benjamin Mendy was in the Marseille team beaten 3-0 away and 2-1 at home by Dortmund in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• While at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Gonzalo Castro played in 1-0 defeats both away – João Moutinho scoring – and home against Monaco in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League group stage.  

• Radamel Falcao got Club Atlético de Madrid's goal in a 2-1 Liga home defeat by Marc Bartra's FC Barcelona in May 2013.

• International team-mates
Ousmane Dembélé & Kylian Mbappé, Thomas Lemar, Benjamin Mendy, Djibril Sidibé (France)
João Moutinho, Bernardo Silva & Raphaël Guerreiro (Portugal)
Łukasz Piszczek & Kamil Glik (Poland)

• Guerreiro and Moutinho helped Portugal win UEFA EURO 2016 in France.

Match facts

Dortmund
• Guerreiro and Marcel Schmelzer are a booking away from a ban.

• Until Saturday's 4-1 loss at Bayern München, Aubameyang had scored in seven successive appearances for Dortmund, 11 goals in total.

• Dortmund will play Bayern in the German Cup semi-finals on 26 April, having beaten third-tier VfL Sportfreunde Lotte 3-0 in their rearranged last-eight tie on 14 March.

• BVB announced on 30 March that Mahmoud Dahoud will join the club from VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer.

• Erik Durm (muscular) and André Schürrle (ankle) have missed Dortmund's last three Bundesliga games. Schürrle sustained his injury during Germany's 4-1 victory over Azerbaijan on 26 March, a European Qualifier in which he scored twice.

• Schmelzer (back) sat out the 3-0 win against Hamburger SV on 4 April but returned against Bayern, while Marco Reus (hamstring) has not played since 4 March.

• Sven Bender (ankle), an unused substitute in the last three Bundesliga fixtures is yet to play in 2017 but Sebastian Rode (groin) made his first appearance of the year at Bayern.

• Mario Götze, who has not featured since 29 January, will not play again this season. The midfielder is suffering from metabolic disturbances, a disorder that is contributing to his ongoing muscular problems.

• BVB announced on 6 April that Piszczek has extended his contract by one year until summer 2019. Gonzalo Casto (2020) signed a new contract in March.

Monaco
• Falcao, Valère Germain, Sidibé and Fabinho are all a booking away from a ban. Tiémoué Bakayoko serves a one-match suspension.

• Monaco's run of six successive wins in all competitions ended when they lost 4-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the French League Cup final on 1 April.

• Leonardo Jardim's men bounced back three days later by progressing to the last four of the French Cup, Germain scoring twice in a 2-1 home victory over LOSC Lille.

• Falcao (out since 11 March, hip) made his return against LOSC as a late substitute and scored the only goal on Saturday against Angers.

• Mbappé and Mendy made their senior France debuts on 25 March. Mendy and Sidibé started against Luxembourg in the European Qualfiers for the FIFA World Cup, setting up a goal apiece for Olivier Giroud in the 3-1 success, while Mbappé was introduced in the second half.