H2H: Borussia Dortmund vs Zenit Saint Petersburg – Prediction (Champions League

H2H: Dortmund v Zenit – Comparison.

Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland scored again at the weekend in what was his 18th goal across his first 20 Bundesliga appearances. Only Uwe Seeler back in 1963/64 has a better such record (19 goals). Aleksandr Yerokhin has scored in three of Zenit’s last four competitive matches, twice netting the opener. Dortmund have led at HT in just one of their last eight UCL home games (HT: W1, D6, L1).

Dortmund Insights.

One-time winners, and in their 15th UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign, Borussia Dortmund need a win after losing their opening match 3-1 earlier this month. However, three consecutive UCL home wins – despite failing to lead at the break each time (HT: D2, L1) – will give them belief they can take all three points here. The German giants have also won their previous three Bundesliga home games ‘to nil’, doing so in each despite a -2 handicap, and in spite of the fact only two of the ten goals they scored over that period came before HT. That’s been a trend in their UCL games too, with 12 of the last 14 goals Dortmund have scored at home in this tournament coming after HT.

Zenit Insights.

Zenit St Petersburg have a 50% unbeaten rate in away games in UEFA competition versus German clubs (W3, D2, L5), and won the only previous away H2H 2-1 back in March 2014. However seven defeats from their last ten UCL games against all opponents, illustrates the gulf in class that Zenit usually experience in this competition. They also travel here winless in their last four domestic league road trips (D3, L1), despite netting first in the previous two. The Russian champions also picked up just one point on the road in last season’s UCL group stage, and yet again that was despite netting the opener in two, and never trailing at the break (HT: W2, D1).