Borussia Dortmund open their UEFA Champions League League Stage campaign at home to Villarreal on Tuesday evening, with kick-off at 19:00 UTC at Signal Iduna Park. Both clubs begin with no points on the board in the 36-team table, though their respective positions tell different stories heading into the first match.
Dortmund sit fifth in the table, placing them in the top third of the 36-team League Stage. They arrive in good domestic form, having taken 9 points from their last five matches across all competitions, including 2 consecutive wins. Their most recent outing saw them win 2-3 away at 1899 Hoffenheim, following a 2-0 home victory over Hamburger SV before that.
Villarreal, by contrast, occupy a place in the bottom two of the table at position 36. The Spanish side have taken 5 points from their last five matches and arrive on the back of 2 consecutive defeats — a 2-3 home loss to Deportivo La Coruña and a 1-0 defeat away at Alavés. Prior to that run, Villarreal drew back-to-back matches against Atlético Madrid and Racing Santander.
The head-to-head record offers relevant recent context: when these two sides last met, on 25 November 2025, Borussia Dortmund won 4-0.
With the League Stage only just beginning, both clubs are level on points. Dortmund are in the top third of the table, while Villarreal sit in the bottom two — making Tuesday's match a significant early fixture for the Spanish side as they look to move off the foot of the standings.