Borussia Dortmund take on AC Milan in the Champions League at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night.

Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan were drawn into the group of death along with Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United. 

This will be both sides’ first competitive meeting since 2002-03, when they were drawn together in the Champions League second group stage. Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan exchanged 1-0 away wins back then, which wasn’t enough for the Germans, who finished third in the group, while the Rossonerii went on to win the title.

AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund also met in the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 2001-02, with The Black and Yellows claiming a 4-0 first-leg victory to eventually win the tie 5-3 on aggregate (Milan won the second leg 3-1).

Borussia Dortmund failed to impress in their Champions League opener as they lost 2-0 at Paris Saint-Germain and the German side's lackluster display was never a match for the French champions.

Months after suffering a heart-breaking failure when they lost the Bundesliga title on the final day of the season, Borussia Dortmund are once again bidding to end Bayern Munich's domestic hegemony.

Although they remain unbeaten after six rounds, Edin Terzic's side started the new Bundesliga campaign with two draws in their opening three games.

Draws against teams that are expected to fight to avoid relegation (VfL Bochum and FC Heidenheim) are disappointing, indeed, but Borussia Dortmund was perfect after the international break, winning three consecutive games against tricky opponents such as SC Freiburg (4-2), Wolfsburg (1-0) and Hoffenheim (3-1) last time out.

The Black and Yellows have been recognized for their attacking mentality over the years, but it's their attitude in defense that often lets them down.

Having scored in three consecutive Bundesliga matches, Dortmund’s all-time top goal scorer in the Champions League Marco Reus will be keen to inspire his teammates in front of the famous Yellow Wall on Wednesday night. 

Summer signing Niclas Füllkrug scored his first goal for Borussia Dortmund over the weekend. He opened the scoring in the 3-1 victory at Hoffenheim on Friday and the 30-year-old German forward is expected to keep his starting spot up front, though Karim Adeyemi, Youssoufa Moukoko and Sebastien Haller are all pushing for starts. 

Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey are both sidelined for Dortmund, while summer signing Marcel Sabitzer is a doubt. The Austrian midfielder picked up an injury early in Dortmund's trip to Paris last month and missed the last two Bundesliga games as a result.

Niklas Süle may once again have to settle on the bench with Nico Schlotterbeck expected to start alongside veteran Mats Hummels at centre-back. 

The Italian giants were held to a goalless draw against Newcastle at San Siro in their Champions League opener. They did display the necessary courage, though, and now adding a clinical edge will be their goal after Stefano Pioli's men drew a blank in that game.

Stefano Pioli's side started their Scudetto bid with three consecutive wins prior to a devastating 5-1 loss to arch-rivals Inter Milan in mid-September. However, The Rossoneri quickly got back on track as they won three in a row in Serie A afterward and are level on 18 points with current leaders Inter Milan.

AC Milan travel to Dortmund on the back of a 2-0 home win over Lazio on Saturday.  

Meanwhile, the heartbreaking defensive performance in last month's Derby della Madonnina came without Fikayo Tomori, who was suspended. The England centre-back is a mainstay of Stefano Pioli's defensive setup and his absence makes the Rossoneri vulnerable.  

Thus. AC Milan now has five consecutive Derby della Madonnina defeats for the first time in history. Remarkably, all of them were in 2023 (two Serie A meetings, two Champions League semi-finals as well as the Supercoppa Italiana game in January), with the Rossoneri scoring just one goal against Inter Milan's 12.

This will be AC Milan's first trip to Germany since 2008-09 when they lost on away goals to Werder Bremen (3-3 on aggregate) in the UEFA Cup round of 32.

Christian Pulisic is set to start against his former club. The USMNT international already boasts three goals and one assist in seven Serie A games since he joined the Italian giants this summer. 

Noah Okafor scored in back-to-back games and the Swiss forward will hope to get the nod over veteran Olivier Giroud, who is tipped to lead the line for AC Milan. Even though he's yet to score since AC Milan's 2-1 win at AS Roma on 1 September, the 37-year-old French forward already registered four goals and three assists in six Serie A appearances this term.

French defender Pierre Kalulu is injured and midfielders Rade Krunic (thigh) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (abdominal) join him on the sidelines. Considering their absence, Stefano Pioli will be forced to make changes to his midfield with both Yunus Musah and Yacine Adli expected to step in.

Elsewhere, Italian defender Mattia Caldara and Algerian midfielder Ismaël Bennacer are long-term absentees for AC Milan. 

Borussia Dortmund: Gregor Kobel - Julian Ryerson, Mats Hummels, Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini - Salih Özcan, Felix Nmecha - Julian Brandt, Marco Reus, Donyell Malen - Niclas Fullkrug. (4-2-3-1)

AC Milan: Mike Maignan - Davide Calabria, Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez - Yunus Musah, Yacine Adli, Tijjani Reijnders - Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao. (4-3-3)

Borussia Dortmund have only lost one of their last 15 home matches in the Champions League group stage (winning 9).

All in all, The Black and Yellows remain unbeaten at the Signal Iduna Park since a 3-2 loss to Werder Bremen in August 2022, winning 17 of their last 22 home matches across all competitions.

AC Milan, on the other hand, has won just seven of their last 26 Champions League games (losing 11). Still, they reached the Champions League semi-finals last year - for the first time since 2006-07, when they went on to win the title.

The Rossoneri have won just one of their last six away games in the Champions League - a 4-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb in last year's group stage. They'll be looking to at least avoid a defeat in Dortmund ahead of their back-to-back games with PSG after the international break.