Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Preview, Prediction, Team News and Confirmed Lineups

After a 3-0 win in the first leg, Borussia Dortmund return to Champions League action for the second leg of their play-off vs Sporting on Wednesday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included in our preview.

Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Preview

Looking to bounce back after a bitterly disappointing defeat in the Bundesliga at the weekend, Borussia Dortmund return to Champions League action for the second leg of their play-off tie against Sporting.

Niko Kovac’s side lead by a comfortable three-goal margin after winning 3-0 in the first leg at the José Alvalade Stadium last week, in which Serhou Guirassy, Pascal Gross and Karim Adeyemi grabbed a goal apiece.

Guirassy’s opener in Lisbon, his 10th goal in the competition this term, has seen him move a goal clear at the top of the Champions League goalscoring charts. He leads the likes of Robert Lewandowski (9), Raphinha (8), Erling Haaland (8), Vinicius Junior (7) and Harry Kane (7) in the race for the Golden Boot.

🎯 @Guirassy_19 vs. Sporting 😎💪#UCL | #SCPBVB | @BVB @BlackYellow pic.twitter.com/ktJLE3L9hc

— UEFA.com DE (@UEFAcom_de) February 14, 2025

Following on from their impressive result last Tuesday, Die Borussen were unable to maintain such high standards by the weekend. Now 11th in the German top-flight table, they were beaten 2-0 by relegation battlers Bochum on Saturday.

As for Sporting, they are now winless in three successive matches but remain top of the Liga Portugal table. Rui Borges’ side were held to a 2-2 draw by Arouca at the weekend, with Benfica now hot on their heels in the race for the title.

The Portuguese champions have already faced off against another Bundesliga side in Europe’s premier competition this term, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat away at RB Leipzig on MD7 of the league phase last month.

Borussia Dortmund Team News

There isn’t much to report in terms of injuries within Dortmund’s squad, with Felix Nmecha being the only absentee. The midfielder has been ruled out until at least March.

English youngster Jamie Gittens is likely to retain his starting berth on the left wing, along with Karim Adeyemi on the right, Julian Brandt in attacking midfield and top scorer Guirassy up front.

Gross, who scored in the first leg, should start in midfield, likely alongside either Salih Ozcan or former Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, and the back line is expected to remain unchanged from last week’s win.

Sporting Team News

As for the visitors, Geny Catamo, Daniel Braganca, Nuno Santos, Hidemasa Morita and Jeremiah St. Juste have been ruled out, while Portugal international Pedro Goncalves is a doubt.

Star forward Viktor Gyokeres and former Barcelona attacking midfielder Francisco Trincao reportedly didn’t travel with the squad to Germany, meaning that they won’t feature at the Westfalenstadion.

Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Confirmed Lineups

Borussia Dortmund Lineup:

Kobel; Ryerson, Can, Schlotterbeck, Svensson; Sabitzer, Gross; Adeyemi, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy

Sporting Lineup:

Silva; Esgaio, Quaresma, Diomande, Inacio, Reis; Hjulmand, Simoes: Biel, Quenda; Harder

Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Prediction

The UK’s best football betting sites make Borussia Dortmund the 4/5 favourites to come out on top in North-Rhine Westphalia on Wednesday, while a draw is valued at around 29/10 and a Sporting win is priced at 16/5.

While the Bundesliga outfit are clearly favoured among bookmakers, given their incredibly inconsistent form in recent weeks and throughout the season, we at SportsCasting find this clash to be a tough one to call.

Despite this though, the visitors are without their star man, and Dortmund clearly proved last week that they have the quality to hurt the Portuguese champions. We think it’ll be a tight one but are backing the hosts to narrowly prevail.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sporting