Runaway Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven put themselves to the test on Tuesday, as Borussia Dortmund arrive at Philips Stadion for the first leg of their last-16 tie in UEFA’s top club competition.
PSV’s first Champions League knockout game for eight years will see the Dutch side meet opponents that emerged unscathed from this season’s ‘Group of Death’.
Having previously lost on three consecutive occasions in qualifying, PSV finally returned to the big time earlier this season and finished second to Arsenal in a competitive Group B.
Victory against Lens ended the club’s 15-game run without a win in the Champions’ League group stage, while holding Sevilla and Arsenal to home draws continued an impressive undefeated streak at Philips Stadion – they have won the other six of their last eight European fixtures in Eindhoven.
Now making a fifth appearance in the knockout phase – and only their second in 17 seasons – PSV are trying to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2007.
Fired by captain Luuk de Jong, who has bagged 27 goals in 34 appearances, Peter Bosz presides over a side that are yet to lose in 22 league matches this term, winning no fewer than 20.
After finishing second in the Eredivisie for a third straight year, PSV’s 17-game winning streak to start this season was only ended by January’s 1-1 draw at Utrecht, shortly before they went down 1-0 to Feyenoord in the KNVB Cup. After Friday’s 2-0 defeat of Heracles, they went 13 points clear at the top of the table.
Clearly a force to be reckoned with under ex-Dortmund coach Bosz, the Dutch giants now meet BVB for the first time since the 2002-03 Champions’ League group stage, and gaining a lead ahead of next month’s return leg will be their main aim.
While their domestic season has not panned out anywhere near as well as PSV’s, Borussia Dortmund did finish top of a tightly-contested Group F before Christmas, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle United.
Die Schwarzgelben started with a 2-0 loss in Paris before being held at home by Milan, but revived their campaign by doing the double over Newcastle and then secured progress with a 3-1 win at San Siro.
By contrast with Tuesday’s hosts, Dortmund have been last-16 regulars over the past decade, appearing at this stage of the Champions League in five of the last six seasons – though three of the last four ultimately ended in elimination.
Coach Edin Terzic currently oversees a side that sit may be out of the Bundesliga title race, having come within a whisker of ending Bayern Munich’s long reign last year, but are unbeaten through their last nine games in all competitions.
