Champions League: No Respite for Athletic Club in Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Bilbao

The second round of the 2025/26 Champions League is upon us and there’s a tasty clash in Westphalia to look forward to, when the in form Borussia Dortmund are set to welcome and out-of-sorts Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

Niko Kovac’s Dortmund started the competition with a headline grabbing a 4-4 draw away to Juventus while Athletic Club were downed 2-0 by Arsenal in their opener. And Die Schwarzgelben won 2-0 away to Mainz at the weekend, a result which kept them in second place in the Bundesliga table, sandwiched between Bayern Munich and Red Bull Leipzig in a lively opening to the title race.

Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde’s Bilbao lost 1-0 away to Villarreal , leaving them in tenth place in La Liga, nine points behind leaders Barcelona and without a win in four. So the Basque side’s next challenge, Champions League: Dortmund vs Athletic Club will offer little respite, but Valverde will see it as an opportunity to get things moving in the right direction.

They meet a team at the top of its game and the famous Yellow Wall will be bouncing on Wednesday as the two teams take to the pitch at a packed Signa Iduna Stadium. It’s always a superb sight when BVB are at home, but I suspect the Spaniards won’t be made to feel so welcome.

 

Talking Points

Adeyemi and Guirassy are firing for Dortmund

The 2024 Champions League finalists made the quarter finals again last season and Dortmund certainly made the headlines at the start of this competition, leading 4-2 away to Juventus before conceding two late goals after dominating much of the match in Turin. One oddity in the game was that hot shot Serhou Guirassy failed to get on the score sheet, though he did set up the opener for Karim Adeyemi.

Guirassy has been the biggest threat to Bayern’s Harry Kane as Germany’s top scorer over the past two seasons. And, with four goals in four Bundesliga games so far, he has hit the ground running again this year. Alongside him, winger Adeyemi has hit a hot streak of form, adding a the winner in a 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg and BVB’s second against Mainz to his Champions League strike.

Bilbao’s defence is depleted with centre back Yeray Alvarez suspended over a doping misdemeanour and Aymeric Laporte, who returned to the club in the Summer, was signed too late to join the Champions League squad. The Dortmund vs Athletic Club betting odds say BVB’s potent attack will thrive against a depleted defence and I’m inclined to agree.

 

Tough run for Bilbao

Staritng the La Liga campaign as a potential dark horse for the title and entering the Champions League for the first time in 11 seasons there was plenty of optimism in the sunny Basque in August, but it has rather dulled in recent weeks. Athletic Club discovered how hard it can be among Europe’s elite as Arsenal took a comfortable 2-0 victory away in the opener.

Back in La Liga, having won their three opening games, Valverde’s team has picked up a solitary point from the next four games, a 1-1 draw against Girona, while losing to Deportivo Alaves, Valencia and Villarreal, all without scoring. In fact the goal against Girona was Bilbao’s only strike in five games in all competitions and they have clearly been missing winger Nico Williams who has been nursing an injury, though he has been involved in three goals so far. Williams is doubtful for this game though his older brother Inaki will feature, alongside the returned striker Oihan Sancet who is desperate for a goal.

 

History

These two clubs have met just twice, friendly encounters in 2016 and 2021 both won by Bilbao.

So with little in the way of head to head Dortmund vs Athletic Club results to work on, let’s take a look at recent form. Die Schwarzgelben have won four and drawn two in all competitions, while Bilbao has won one, drawn one and lost four of their last six. And the Basque players are known to suffer from homesickness, losing six of their last eight games on the road in Europe, conceding 16 goals along the way.

Dortmund have scored 15 goals in their last six games and their strikers will be licking their lips.

 

Betting Tip

The draw is at SBOTOP odds of 3.75 for this game with Bilbao at 4.21 and, while the Basque side has plenty of quality and is sure to climb out of its malaise sooner or later, I think they will be overwhelmed in Dortmund and the Yellow Wall will rock!

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.