Strong home record: numbers to savour before Champions League

With their fans behind them, BVB have usually enjoyed a successful start to the Champions League in the past. Their record stands at four wins, two draws and just one defeat.

On 13 September 1995, in their very first Champions League match, Ottmar Hitzfeld's team lost 3-1 to eventual champions Juventus Turin. Since then, they have not lost an opening match on home soil. Most recently, there have been three home wins and one draw – without conceding a single goal! The record from their last four opening games at home reads: 1-0 against Ajax (2012), 2-0 against Arsenal (2014), 0-0 against Barcelona (2019) and 3-0 against Copenhagen (2022).

Incidentally, Villarreal CF have never won on the opening matchday of the UEFA Champions League (three draws, two defeats). At the start of last season, they lost 1-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur.