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Niko Kovač on facing Spurs

"We want to win tomorrow, but to do that we need to put on an exceptional showing. We know that Tottenham have won their first three home games without conceding a goal. That means tomorrow won't be a walk in the park. We'll have to work hard, really hard, and stay focused."

Thomas Frank on facing Dortmund

"[It's] a game tomorrow against a very good German side [...] We are ready, we are focused for the game tomorrow and the plans look good."

Early Dortmund team news

Mussa Kaba and Aarón Anselmino are expected to play no part in this encounter, while it may also come to soon for Marcel Sabitzer. After competing for Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, Ramy Bensebaini is back with the Dortmund squad, but illness kept him out of the Pauli game - he may have recovered in time for this fixture, though.

Watch: Dortmund leave it late against St. Pauli

Dortmund let a two-goal lead slip at home to St. Pauli before Emre Can scored a late penalty to seal all three points for the hosts.

Tottenham's Premier League woes

Despite their solid standing in the Champions League, Spurs have struggled massively in the Premier League. In their game on Saturday, they lost 2-1 at home to relegation-threatened West Ham. Spurs currently sit 14th.

Tottenham's ex-Bundesliga group

The Tottenham squad is packed full of players who have played in the Bundesliga. Xavi Simons joined the club from RB Leipzig in the summer, whereas Mathys Tel (former Bayern) and Randal Kolo Muani (former Frankfurt) are also recent additions to the squad. João Palhinha is also currently on loan at the club, and the suspended Micky van de Ven made a name for himself at Wolfsburg.

Dortmund's struggles in England

BVB have lost seven of their last eight away matches against English opposition. Their last away win in England was against Spurs.

Tottenham's strong European home record

Tottenham are unbeaten in their last five games against German opposition (W3, D2), including wins against both TSG Hoffenheim and Frankfurt last season on their way to winning the Europa League. Spurs also haven't lost a European home game in their last 23, winning 19 of those. They have won all three of their Champions League home games this season without conceding.

Head-to-head

Dortmund and Tottenham have met six times in European competitions to date. Dortmund won the first two encounters in the 2015/16 Europa League round of 16, but have lost each of the last four. The two most recent encounters came during the 2018/19 Champions League round of 16 when Spurs won 3-0 at home and then 1-0 in Dortmund. Bayern Munich's Harry Kane scored the only goal in that second leg.

Tottenham - the story so far

Despite struggling in the English Premier League, Tottenham's record in the Champions League is nearly identical to that of Dortmund's, with just the goals for and against differing. Consequently, Tottenham sit just one place behind their opponents. Their last UCL outing was a 3-0 win at home to Slavia Prague, and both of their remaining games are against German opposition, first Dortmund and then Eintracht Frankfurt.

Borussia Dortmund travel to North London to face English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in their first UEFA Champions League game of the new year on Tuesday night. Here’s just a few reasons why the Bundesliga club will come out on top.

The first of those reasons is their defence. Dortmund have conceded just 17 league goals this season, the second best defensive record in the Bundesliga and only three more than leaders Bayern Munich’s much lauded backline.

They’ve become incredibly difficult to break down under Niko Kovač and have picked up nine clean sheets thus far in the Bundesliga, one more than their Klassiker rivals, with three of those coming in their last six games.

The importance of that strong defensive foundation can’t be understated, with the Black Yellows winning all but one of the games in which they’ve kept a clean sheet.

Watch: The Niko Kovač way

Their ability to keep the ball out of their own net is a result of exceptional defensive work higher up the pitch, with BVB sitting third in the league when it comes to intensive runs, and fourth in the sprints chart. While their off-the-ball intensity is proving a nightmare for teams, Dortmund also cause plenty of problems with it. They sit third for completing successful passes from open play (85.7 percent), meaning their opponents can’t switch off for a second, in either phase of play.

As impressive as they have been at the back this season, Kovač’s men have also been lethal in the attacking third. In the Champions League, they’ve scored 19 goals in just six games, the joint-highest total in the competition alongside reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Watch: Dortmund edge thriller with St. Pauli

In the Bundesliga, they’ve netted 35 times in 18 games - four more than Tottenham have managed in the Premier League having played four more games - and the joint-third highest in Germany’s top tier.

They’ve also managed to rack up that goal tally with 220 shots, producing a combined xG of 31.5. They have outscored that stat by over three goals, which is the gives them the fourth-most clinical attack in Germany's top flight.

As aware as Tottenham might be of BVB’s potent attack, stopping it will be difficult. That’s because the goals have been spread between their forward line, with Serhou Guirassy their top scorer in the league with six. Maximilian Beier, Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi are all close behind with five. It’s a similar story in Europe too, with Guirassy, Brandt and Felix Nmecha their top scorers on three goals each.

At this point, it may be starting to sound like they can’t be beaten, and that’s not too far from the truth. Out of the 26 games they’ve played across the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup so far, Dortmund have only lost three of those.

Their league record stands at 11 wins, six draws and one loss from 18 games. In Europe, their sole loss came away to Manchester City (4-1), with the other five games ending in three wins and two draws. The DFB Cup is where they recorded their third, and arguably most painful, defeat of the season – a narrow 1-0 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen, which saw them bow out of the competition in the round of 16 and miss out on the chance for domestic silverware.

Therefore, the fire for redemption will be burning bright in their camp, especially when it comes to their upcoming opponents from North London.

This will be the seventh time the two teams have met in the competition, with Spurs coming into this fixture with four victories from their previous six encounters. Dortmund did win the other two games, but those wins came in their first two meetings, meaning BVB will be aiming to break their four-game losing streak against them.

Kovač, though, has particularly fond memories of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He was in charge of Bayern when they smashed seven in North London back in 2019. That result remains Spurs' heaviest home defeat in Europe.

Thomas Frank's side are also horribly out of form, managing just one win in their last eight competitive fixtures since beating Slavia Prague in the Champions League. His side may only trail Dortmund by goals scored in the league phase, but confidence and the form guide is in the Bundesliga club's favour.

Bayern Munich take on Tottenham once again in pre-season at the Allianz Arena, this time facing the Londoners in the 2025 Telekom Cup. Follow along as bundesliga.com brings you the latest news and updates.

Vincent Kompany's Bayern side step up their pre-season preparations by facing Kane's old club Tottenham, with a number of new faces still being bedded into the team. That includes Jonathan Tah, Tom Bischof and Luis Díaz, with the latter making a strong first impression in the German champions' first friendly of the summer; the 2-1 win over Lyon. Michael Olise was at his sparkling best in that game, grabbing a brace and showing no signs of slowing after a superb campaign last time around. As for Kane, he remains Spurs' record all-time top scorer and takes on his former side having claimed the first major trophy of his career last season. Missing out are Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala, Hiroki Ito and Aleksandar Pavlović, who sustained a fractured eye socket in training.

Thomas Frank's Tottenham will prepare to face Bayern without Kane's former strike-partner, and the man who replaced the England skipper as Spurs captain, Heung-min Son. The Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen old boy has now announced his departure from the club, just months on from lifting the UEFA Europa League trophy. One new face ready to make their debut is João Palhinha, who completed his loan switch from Bavaria to London this week. That was the latest trade between the two clubs in recent years, which also included Mathys Tel converting his initial loan deal into a permanent move to Tottenham earlier this summer.

Watch: Bayern Munich 2-1 Lyon

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Thu, 07.08 16:30

Spurs

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Telekom Cup Telekom Cup Allianz Arena

Bayern 2-1 Lyon

New signing Luis Díaz made his first appearance for Bayern against French side Lyon on Saturday and made an instant impact, winning a penalty to open the scoring. The spotkick was calmly dispatched by Michael Olise, who later doubled the lead with a composed finish before Lyon pulled one back late on.

Tottenham's pre-season so far

Tottenham, meanwhile, have played five pre-season matches so far. All of those games have been against English opposition, despite some of the games taking place in Asia. The Lilywhites are yet to lose in pre-season, having beaten Reading and Arsenal, and drawn against Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town and Newcastle United.

© IMAGO/Jacques Feeney / Offside

Bayern's pre-season so far

The Bundesliga champions made a late return to pre-season as a result of an extended 2024/25 campaign that saw the Bavarians reach the Club World Cup quarter-final. The players only returned to training at the end of July, and so far, they have only played one pre-season match; a 2-1 win over Lyon.

© ALEXANDRA BEIER

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this friendly match between Bayern Munich and Tottenham in the Telekom Cup.

Bayern Munich have confirmed that defensive midfielder João Palhinha will join Tottenham Hotspur on loan for the 2025/26 campaign, with the English Premier League side holding an option to make the move a permanent one.

Palhinha joined Bayern from Fulham in July 2024, but a combination of injuries and head coach Vincent Kompany's midfield personnel preferences restricted the 30-year-old to just 24 competitive appearances last season, of which only nine were starts.

"João Palhinha unfortunately didn’t get the playing time he had hoped for at Bayern last season," said board member for sport Max Eberl.

"In Tottenham Hotspur, we’ve found the best solution for all parties. João will be able to play an entire season there at the highest level level. We wish him all the best for the upcoming campaign."

Prior to making the switch to Bavaria, Palhinha won the Primeira Liga, two Taças da Liga and the Portuguese Super Cup with Sporting CP, having also lifted the league cup with SC Braga in his native Portugal. Following that he joined London-based outfit Fulham, where he made 79 appearances, scoring eight goals.

For his country, Palhinha has 34 total caps and two goals to his name. Having starred at UEFA Euro 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2024, the midfielder was part of the Portugal that recently won the UEFA Nations League in June, beating Spain on penalties.

It's crunch time for Eintracht Frankfurt in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie against English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. bundesliga.com has five reasons the Eagles can fly past their London-based rivals and into the tournament's last four...

Follow Thursday's first leg here!

They may have suffered the odd blip here and there this term but, by and large, this has been a record-breaking season for Eintracht. Currently chasing a UEFA Champions League finish in the Bundesliga, Dino Toppmöller's men have been rubbing shoulders with leaders Bayern Munich and defending champions Bayer Leverkusen in the standings for most of the campaign.

Among this season's notable numbers are Frankfurt's seven-game unbeaten sequence to start the calendar year - a first under their current coach - and their 55 league goals scored (the division's third-best tally after 28 games). They've also already won more Bundesliga games this term than they managed in the entire 2023/24 campaign.

Frankfurt's energetic, youthful squad is the envy of Europe right now, and the club's young guns have the numbers to back up their impressive status. From the likes of Germany U21 defenders Nathaniel Brown and Nnamdi Collins to Can Uzun, Jean-Mattéo Bahoya, Elye Wahi and star striker Hugo Ekitiké, Frankfurt have effervescent talent in abundance across the park. The collective pace and enthusiasm mark Eintracht out as one of the best teams in Europe in terms of transition play, and Toppmöller will look to use this tactic in particular to try and unsettle Tottenham.

With 29 of their goals scored by 10 players under the age of 23, only Strasbourg of Ligue 1 can claim a better youth strike rate in Europe's top five leagues. Ekitiké ranks among the highest in the Bundesliga in terms of Expected Goals while Uzun - at 19 years and four months old - recently scored his fourth Bundesliga goal to revive memories of a club record set by Walter Bechtold back in 1965/66, the latter becoming the youngest at Eintracht to score six times in just 17 games, aged 18.

Watch: Turkey international Can Uzun is on the rise

Now a veteran of more than 300 Bundesliga appearances and 119 games in European competition, FIFA World Cup winner with Germany Mario Götze is still happily pulling the strings in midfield at the highest level. A scorer of two sublime goals in Eintracht's 4-1 second-leg victory against Ajax in the round of 16, the 32-year-old is showing that his talent and vision are still of the highest quality in the European game.

Having popped up in six positions for Frankfurt so far this season, the former Borussia Dortmund, Bayern and PSV Eindhoven schemer is a lesson in versatility while his eight goal involvements in 31 games across all competitions for Die Adler in 2024/25 mark him out as one to watch for Spurs, who will do well to contain Eintracht's game-changing attacker, a player still very much capable of unlocking any encounter with a moment of individual brilliance.

Watch: Super Mario Götze

Tottenham are two-time winners of the old UEFA Cup, with the Londoners last lifting the trophy in 1984. However, Eintracht's second triumph in this tournament came as recently as 2022, when the Eagles defeated Rangers in a penalty shootout in the Europa League showpiece in Seville. Several of the Frankfurt stars from that epic run are still with the Eintracht set-up, and it is just that tournament experience that can give the Bundesliga side the edge against Spurs this time around.

"For us, for Frankfurt, for the region - for the whole of Germany - I think it's a wonderful thing. It was the most intense experience of our lives for many of us," an elated Kevin Trapp said after that aforementioned win, the Germany international goalkeeper making crucial saves in extra-time and the penalty shootout against the Scottish giants at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

"I'm just happy we did it and now we just want to celebrate with the fans," an equally thrilled Ansgar Knauff - also still a key member of the current Eintracht crop - added. "We knew that [Trapp] would make a save and the [fans] knew that, too. We did it - it's incredible," the 23-year-old added. Defender Tuta, along with back-up goalkeeper Jens Grahl and former USMNT international Timothy Chandler, are also still at Eintracht having been present in southern Spain for Frankfurt's trophy triumph in 2022.

Watch: Eintracht will be eager to repeat the celebrations that greeted their 2022 UEFA Europa League triumph

A crucial factor when the Europa League bracket was settled saw Eintracht gain home advantage for the second leg of of their quarter-final against Spurs. Deutsche Bank Park also played host to the second leg when Frankfurt swept aside Ajax in the round of 16 to make it four wins and a draw at home for the Eagles in this season's competition so far.

With no defeats in their own backyard and 11 goals scored in the Europa League in 2024/25, Eintracht, who are also one of the best home teams in the Bundesliga this term, will look to take a solid result at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg on 10 April, before driving home the advantage of playing in front of their own passionate fans in the return leg a week later.

Determined to put in one more top European showing this term, trophy contenders Eintracht Frankfurt have what it takes to leave London with a positive result in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first-leg against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday (kick-off: 9pm CEST).

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Having slotted six goals past Ajax in the round of 16, Eintracht are fuelling hope of a run to this season's final to mirror their achievement in the 2021/22 season, when the Eagles lifted the Europa League trophy for the second time in their history. If Dino Toppmöller's team enjoyed a solid run in the competition's newly formed league phase this season, their fifth-placed finish was only marginally bettered by Thursday's opponents Spurs, who ended one place and one point better off than Die Adler. A run of three wins on the bounce in all competitions for Frankfurt was checked by Saturday's 2-0 loss away to Werder Bremen, a setback that failed to alter Eintracht's third-placed standing in the Bundesliga. Frankfurt were without goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and Ansgar Knauff - both players to have featured in the team's 2022 European success - at the weekend while striker Hugo Ekitiké drew a rare blank. The French forward will be hoping to be back in form to trouble Tottenham this week, with Thursday's hosts also needing to watch out for the likes of Nathaniel Brown, Nnamdi Collins, Jean-Matteo Bahoya, Can Uzun and one of the continent's most exciting young sides. Kauã Santos is expected to start in goal.

Despite a disappointing domestic campaign, Tottenham's run in the Europa League took in just one loss in the league phase (against Galatasaray), while Ange Postecoglou's side also overcame Bundesliga opposition earlier in the competition with a 3-2 victory at Hoffenheim. Just like Eintracht, Spurs then also knocked out Dutch opponents in AZ Alkmaar to reach the last eight, and the North London team are now pinning their season hopes on a trophy they last lifted back in 1984. Former Augsburg defender Kevin Danso and Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski remain touch and go for Thursday's encounter, but Djed Spence should be available again following illness. Micky van de Ven (once of Wolfsburg), Heung-min Son (formerly of Hamburg) and James Maddison are expected to play key roles against the Eagles, meanwhile, while Bayern Munich loanee Mathys Tel is also an option in attack for the English Premier League outfit.

Watch: Eintracht aiming high in season run-in

Match stats

Ekitiké is Frankfurt’s biggest attacking threat in 2024/25, with 19 goals and eight assists in all competitions.

Frankfurt have faced Spurs four times in Europe, winning and drawing one and losing two.

Eintracht won the 2021/22 Europa League without losing a single game. Indeed, they were unbeaten in a record-equalling 18 matches in the competition until defeat to Lyon in this season’s league phase.

London club West Ham United were among the teams Frankfurt beat on their way to lifting the trophy in 2021/22. They also won away to Arsenal in the 2019/20 edition, having gone out in the semi-finals on penalties to Chelsea the previous year.

Postecoglu has lost all four of his previous meetings with Bundesliga clubs as a head coach, falling home and away to RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.

As well as Son and Tel, Van de Ven, Danso and Timo Werner have all played in the Bundesliga.

Probable teams

Tottenham: Vicario - Porro, Gray, Van de Ven, Spence - Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison - Johnson, Solanke, Son (c)

Out: Danso (thigh), Dragusin (knee)

Doubtful: Kulusevski (ankle)

Coach: Ange Postecoglou

Frankfurt: Santos - Kristensen, Koch (c), Tuta, Theate - Skhiri, Larsson - Collins, Götze, Bahoya - Ekitiké

Out: Chandler (thigh), Matanović (foot), Trapp (shin)

Doubtful: Knauff (knee), Wahi (knee)

Coach: Dino Toppmöller

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Spurs

Thu, 10.04 19:00

Frankfurt

Europa League

Quarter-final, first leg Quarter-final, first leg Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

From a young squad bursting with goals to the experience of 2022’s Europa League-winning team and a world champion in Mario Götze, here’s just five reasons why Eintracht will progress against Tottenham in this quarter-final…

© IMAGO/Harry Langer/DeFodi Images

Stumbling spurs

Ange Postecoglou's side sit in 14th in the Premier League, winning one of their last five. In Europe, however, they've only lost twice, winning six and drawing the other two games.

Previous meetings

Fixtures between these two sides are rare, with only four previous meetings between the two until now. Those games have resulted in two wins for Tottenham, one for Frankfurt and a draw in the other, with the most recent game coming in the 2022/23 Champions League season. Tottenham won an exciting 3-2 encounter on that occasion, with Daichi Kamada and Faride Alidou scoring for the Eagles.

Watch: Eintracht Frankurt on course for UEFA Champions League football

After finishing sixth last season, this exciting Frankfurt side have gone from strength to strength in 2024/25, blending the development of young stars such as Hugo Ekitiké, Nathaniel Brown and Can Uzun with exciting, winning football.

Soaring in Europe

Dino Toppmöller's side have lost just two of their 10 games so far in this competition, winning seven and drawing the remaining one. This accompanies an excellent campaign in the Bundesliga, where they sit in the Champions League places with just six games to go.

Bounce back

Eintracht Frankfurt come into this fixture in the back of a defeat to Werder Bremen, but remain in third with a two point gap between themselves and Mainz in fourth.

Watch: Werder Bremen 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt - highlights

Romano Schmid scored one and made another as Werder Bremen took three important points on Matchday 28.

The international Klassiker

Fixtures between German and English clubs have been a staple of European competition down the years, with Bundesliga teams recording some excellent victories over their continental rivals. Take a trip down memory lane for some of the most famous German wins over English clubs. .

© imago sportfotodienst/imago sportfotodienst

And then there were three

From seven clubs in September, only three German teams remain in Europe this season. Find out how all the Bundesliga’s representatives have got on across the three continental competitions here.

© DFL

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