Borussia Dortmund begin their 2026/27 UEFA Champions League campaign at home to Villarreal on Tuesday, September 8, with kickoff scheduled for 21:00 CET at Signal Iduna Park. It is a rematch of last season's league-phase meeting, when Dortmund won emphatically in Germany.
BVB arrive with a perfect domestic start, while Villarreal are still searching for their first La Liga victory of the season. That gives Dortmund a clear form advantage, although Villarreal's technical quality means the hosts cannot simply rely on last season's result.
Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal Head-to-Head
The clubs have met only once in competitive football. Dortmund beat Villarreal 4-0 at Signal Iduna Park on November 25, 2025, during the Champions League league phase. Serhou Guirassy scored twice, with Karim Adeyemi and Daniel Svensson completing the victory.
There was also a 2-2 pre-season friendly in August 2024, but I would keep that separate from the official competitive H2H record.
Competitive H2H
November 25, 2025: Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Villarreal — UEFA Champions League
So Dortmund lead the competitive record 1-0, with four goals scored and none conceded.
The 4-0 scoreline was convincing, but Dortmund coach Niko Kovač has warned against reading too much into it. Speaking before this rematch, he said last year's game was closer than the result suggested and stressed Villarreal's technical ability in possession.
Borussia Dortmund Current Form
Dortmund have made an excellent start to the new season. They opened the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over Hamburg before producing an impressive comeback to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 away.
BVB trailed 2-0 in that match before Guirassy scored and assisted Fábio Silva, with an own goal completing the comeback. They also began their DFB-Pokal campaign with a 5-0 victory over HEBC.
That leaves Dortmund with:
two wins from two Bundesliga matches;
five league goals scored;
two conceded;
three competitive wins to begin the season.
The Hoffenheim comeback was particularly encouraging because Dortmund found a way to change the game after struggling for much of the opening hour.
Guirassy remains their focal point, but the current attacking structure is different from the one suggested in the original article. Players such as Konstantinos Karetsas, Ethan Nwaneri and Maximilian Beier are part of the current attacking options around him, while Joey Veerman and Jobe Bellingham provide quality through midfield.
Villarreal Current Form
Villarreal arrive in Dortmund in much more difficult domestic form. After four La Liga matches, Iñigo Pérez's side are still winless:
Racing Santander 2-2 Villarreal
Atlético Madrid 2-2 Villarreal
Deportivo Alavés 1-0 Villarreal
Villarreal 2-3 Deportivo La Coruña
That gives them two points from four matches. Their most recent defeat was especially frustrating. Villarreal led Deportivo late in the match but conceded twice in the closing stages to lose 3-2 at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
The issue has not simply been creating chances. Villarreal have shown they can compete—drawing away to Atlético is evidence of that—but they have struggled to control games defensively.
Dortmund's official preview also notes that Villarreal sit 16th after four matches and that only three La Liga clubs had conceded more goals at this stage.
Borussia Dortmund Team News and Injuries
Dortmund have several important absences for Matchday 1. UEFA lists:
Ramy Bensebaini — suspended
Nico Schlotterbeck — suspended
Filippo Mané — out with a thigh injury
Dortmund have additionally confirmed that Giannis Konstantelias and Emre Can remain sidelined with long-term knee injuries. That means the original suggestion that Schlotterbeck is available to start in central defence is incorrect.
UEFA's projected Dortmund lineup is:
Gregor Kobel; Almugera Kabar/Gadou, Waldemar Anton, Daniel Svensson; Julian Ryerson, Joey Veerman, Jobe Bellingham, Maximilian Beier; Konstantinos Karetsas, Ethan Nwaneri; Serhou Guirassy.
Dortmund confirmed that Svensson and Karetsas missed part of Monday's team training only for load management and remain available.
Villarreal Team News and Injuries
Villarreal arrive with fewer confirmed availability problems. UEFA currently lists no Villarreal player as definitely out, although Juan Foyth is doubtful with an Achilles problem.
The expected lineup is:
Péter Gulácsi; Santiago Mouriño, Logan Costa, Renato Veiga, Carlos Romero; Nicolas Pépé, Santi Comesaña, Pape Gueye, Tajon Buchanan; Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze.
That means a few details in the original team-news section need correcting. Luiz Júnior is not UEFA's projected starter in goal, while Ayoze Pérez is not currently projected to start up front.
Villarreal still have attacking alternatives available, including Ayoze, but the likely partnership of Gerard Moreno and Mikautadze gives them movement and technical quality through central areas.
Tactical Match Analysis
The clearest tactical contrast is between Dortmund's pressure and vertical attacking game against Villarreal's preference for possession and technical combinations.
Kovač has specifically highlighted Villarreal's ability to keep the ball and make few mistakes when they establish possession. His response is likely to be aggressive pressure designed to reduce the amount of time the Spanish side can spend controlling the game.
For Dortmund, Guirassy gives them an obvious reference point. He can occupy Villarreal's centre-backs, hold up direct passes and create space for Karetsas and Nwaneri to operate underneath him.
Bellingham and Veerman should also be important. If Dortmund win midfield turnovers, they have enough pace and movement to attack before Villarreal can reset.
Villarreal's route into the match may come through the wide areas. Pépé and Buchanan can carry the ball quickly in transition, while Gerard Moreno's movement can drag Dortmund defenders away from their positions.
That becomes particularly relevant because Dortmund are missing Schlotterbeck and Bensebaini. The reshaped back line is arguably the biggest area Villarreal can target.
Key Players to Watch
Serhou Guirassy — Borussia Dortmund: He scored twice in last season's 4-0 win over Villarreal and has already opened his Bundesliga account this season. His goal and assist helped turn the Hoffenheim match around.
Jobe Bellingham — Borussia Dortmund: Bellingham is expected to play a central role in Dortmund's midfield and could be important both in pressing Villarreal and moving the ball quickly into attacking areas.
Nicolas Pépé — Villarreal: His ability to attack defenders one-on-one gives Villarreal a dangerous outlet when Dortmund push players forward.
Gerard Moreno — Villarreal: His movement and technical intelligence can create problems between Dortmund's midfield and defence, particularly with BVB forced into changes at the back.
What the Numbers Tell Us
One previous competitive meeting: Dortmund won 4-0.
Perfect domestic start: Dortmund have won their opening two Bundesliga matches.
Villarreal still winless: two draws and two defeats from their first four La Liga games.
Dortmund's strong home record: BVB have won 14 of their last 23 Champions League home matches, drawing seven and losing only two.
Recent success against Spanish opposition: last season's Villarreal victory was Dortmund's third consecutive win against a La Liga club at the time.
Villarreal's defensive concern: they have conceded eight goals in four La Liga matches this season.
Who Has the Advantage?
I give Borussia Dortmund the advantage, but I would stop short of describing them as overwhelming favourites.
Their current form is clearly better. They have won every competitive match this season, will have Signal Iduna Park behind them, and already know they can punish Villarreal after last year's 4-0 result.
Villarreal's winless league start and eight goals conceded also make this a difficult away assignment.
However, Dortmund's defensive absences matter. Schlotterbeck and Bensebaini are both suspended, Mané is injured, and Villarreal have enough technical quality to exploit an unfamiliar defensive setup.
The hosts therefore have the stronger overall match profile, but Villarreal's best chance is to survive Dortmund's early pressure and attack the spaces created when BVB commit numbers forward.
Conclusion
Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal allows BVB to begin another Champions League campaign strongly at Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund arrive with three competitive victories, a dangerous Guirassy-led attack and a strong European home record. Villarreal, by contrast, are still looking for their first La Liga win and have shown defensive vulnerability in the opening weeks.
The visitors should offer more resistance than last season's 4-0 result might imply, particularly because Dortmund are missing important defenders. Even so, BVB's current form, home advantage and attacking threat give them the stronger pre-match case for all three points.
The most important corrections from the original are that Dortmund and Villarreal have only one previous competitive meeting, Villarreal are currently coached by Iñigo Pérez, Villarreal are winless after four La Liga matches, and Schlotterbeck is suspended rather than available. UEFA's latest team-news update also changes several projected starters for both teams.