Dortmund v Atlético background

Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid have already assumed control of Group A, and a win for either on matchday three would put them within sight of a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.

• Both teams have six points having beaten Club Brugge and Monaco. Dortmund hold the advantage with a goal difference of one better than their Spanish opponents.

Previous meetings
• The sides have met in four previous matches, most recently in the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League group stage when each recorded an away victory. Dortmund were 1-0 winners in Spain before a 2-1 Atlético success in Germany; the pair finished level on 13 points, Atlético winning the section ahead of Dortmund on head-to-head record. It was the German club, however, who would go on to lift the trophy that season, beating Juventus in the final; Atlético were eliminated by Ajax in the quarter-finals.

• Dortmund came out on top in the 1965/66 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final between the teams, following a 1-1 draw in Spain with a 1-0 home victory. Once again, the German side went on to win the trophy.

Form guide
Dortmund
• Lucian Favre's side were 3-0 victors against Monaco in their first home Group A game, on matchday two, having opened the section with a 1-0 win at Club Brugge.

• Fourth in last season's Bundesliga, the German club are in the group stage for the third season running, and the seventh time in eight years – in their 2017/18 campaign they picked up only two points from their six fixtures. They went on to reach the UEFA Europa League round of 16, losing to Salzburg.

• Despite the wins against Club Brugge and Monaco, Dortmund have won only three of their last 13 UEFA Champions League fixtures (D3 L7).

• The German club picked up only one point at home in last season's group stage, and were without a win in four UEFA Champions League matches in Dortmund (D1 L3) before beating Monaco.

• The 3-2 home win against Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg was Dortmund's only European victory last season; they have now won two of their last seven European home matches (D1 L4).

• Dortmund's record at home to Spanish clubs is W7 D4 L3 – one of those defeats coming in the most recent encounter, Real Madrid's 3-1 success in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage. That ended Dortmund's five-match unbeaten run (W4 D1) at home to Spanish clubs.

• BVB's last eight games against Spanish sides have all pitted them against Real Madrid; they won only two of those contests, and none of the last four (D2 L2).

Atlético
• Diego Simeone's side were 3-1 winners at home to Club Brugge on matchday two having won their opening fixture at Monaco 2-1.

• Those results mean Atlético have won their last five European games, and have lost only one of their last 16 matches in continental competition (W11 D4).

• Atlético have lost only one of their last eight European away games, winning three.

• A 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg ended Atlético's three-match losing run in Germany.

• UEFA Champions League finalists in 2014 and 2016, and semi-finalists two seasons ago, Atlético won only one game in the 2017/18 competition, drawing four including all three away, to finish behind Roma and Chelsea in their section.

• However, Los Rojiblancos then moved into the UEFA Europa League, winning their first five matches. They lost only one of nine overall and defeated Marseille 3-0 in the Lyon final.

• Atlético have already lifted European silverware this season, beating Real Madrid 4-2 in August's UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn – making them the first team to win the competition on their first three appearances.

• The Rojiblancos have reached two UEFA Champions League and three UEFA Europa League finals in the last nine seasons.

Links and trivia
• Atlético's Thomas Lemar provided three assists in Monaco's 6-3 aggregate win against Dortmund in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Shinji Kagawa and Marco Reus were among the German club's scorers.

• Have played in Spain:
Paco Alcácer (Valencia 2009–16, Getafe 2012/13 loan, Barcelona 2016–18)
Sergio Gómez (Barcelona 2017/18)
Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid 2016–18)

• International team-mates:
Raphäel Guerreiro & Gelson Martins (Portugal)
Paco Alcácer & Saúl Ñíguez, Koke, Diego Costa, Rodri, Juanfran, Vitolo (Spain)

Latest news

Dortmund
• Dortmund are still unbeaten this season (W9 D2), winning their last five matches in all competitions.

• Saturday's 4-0 win at Stuttgart made it 27 goals for Dortmund in their first eight Bundesliga games – their highest tally at this stage of the season.

• Dortmund have won all five games at home in 2018/19, scoring 21 goals and conceding five.

• Paco Alcácer, who hit a hat-trick in the 4-3 defeat of Augsburg on 6 October and was on target again in Stuttgart, has scored seven goals in his first four Bundesliga matches, in only 129 minutes of playing time – a competition record.

• Marco Reus has five goals in his last five games, including one on Saturday.

• Substitute Mario Götze scored in his first Bundesliga game this season against Augsburg – his first goal for BVB since February.

• On 26 September Dortmund earned their biggest Bundesliga win in 32 years, beating Nürnberg 7-0.

• Alcácer marked his first international appearances since March 2016 with two goals in Spain's 4-1 friendly win in Wales on 11 October and one in the UEFA Nations League defeat by England four days later.

• Jadon Sancho made his international debut in England's goalless UEFA Nations League draw away to Croatia on 12 October.

• Reus missed Germany's UEFA Nations League games away to the Netherlands and in France due to knee problems. Roman Bürki (groin) and Manuel Akanji (hip) sat out Switzerland's matches against Belgium and Iceland, although Reus and Bürki recovered to start the weekend; Akanji is expected to be out for three weeks.

• Marius Wolf and Raphaël Guerreiro (muscular injuries), Shinji Kagawa (ankle) and Marcel Schmelzer (knee) are all sidelined. Łukasz Piszczek and Christian Pulišić recovered from their own muscle problems to feature at Stuttgart, the latter as a substitute.

• Ömer Toprak has not played this season due to a thigh injury although he was an unused substitute at Stuttgart.

Atlético 
• Diego Costa scored twice in Atlético's 4-2 extra-time defeat of Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn on 15 August. Saúl Ñíguez and Koke were also on target.

• Costa has scored three goals in three UEFA club competition appearances this season, but he has not found the net in domestic football since striking against Sevilla on 25 February. He has since scored five goals in Europe.

• Five points from four matches this season represented Atlético's worst start to a Liga campaign under Diego Simeone. They have, however, won three of their last five league fixtures, although they were held 1-1 at Villarreal on Saturday.

• Filip Luís scored the Atlético goal at the weekend, his first since December 2017.

• Antoine Griezmann scored both goals in France's 2-1 comeback win against Germany in the UEFA Nations League on 16 October.

• Stefan Savić (calf) has been out since 10 September, while Vitolo sprained a knee in the 1-1 draw at Valencia on 20 August and has not played since, although the latter was an unused substitute at Villarreal.

• Diego Costa (hamstring) has been out since matchday two, as had José María Giménez with a similar problem before returning at the weekend.