- Bologna are 33rd in the Champions League table
- Ninth-placed Dortmund are just a point behind Arsenal in third
- Recommended bet: Borussia Dortmund to win and both teams to score

Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to take a big step towards securing a top-eight finish in the Champions League when they head to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara to face Bologna.

It has been a dismal European campaign for the Italian hosts, who have collected just two points from six matches and they require maximum points from their last two assignments to stand any chance of making the knockout phase play-offs.

BVB find themselves right in the mix for one of the eight automatic last-16 places and they can boost their hopes of landing one of these spots at the expense of Bologna, who will be unable to qualify if they fail to win.

Team news

Bologna remain without Swiss midfielder Michel Aebischer, who continues to recover from a hernia problem, while Nicolo Cambiaghi recently returned to training and is pushing to be involved.

Dortmund are missing suspended left-back Ramy Bensebaini, who picked up his third yellow of the competition in defeat to Barcelona back in December.

Filippo Mane and Niklas Sule missed Friday's defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and the duo will need to be assessed close to kick-off.

The stats

Bologna's 3-1 victory at home to Monza on Saturday extended their unbeaten run to three matches, having secured 2-2 draws against Roma and Inter Milan prior to that success.

Vincenzo Italiano's side have lost just one of their last six home games, but they have failed to win any of their three Champions League fixtures at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, drawing with Shakhtar Donetsk and losing to Monaco and Lille.

Dortmund's losing run stretched to three games following Friday's defeat at Eintracht, adding to previous losses against Bayer Leverkusen and Holstein Kiel.

BVB have enjoyed a better time in Europe, collecting 12 points from six matches to leave them just a point adrift of the six teams above them in the standings.

Prediction

Bologna know a victory is required to keep their hopes of making the play-offs alive and even that may not be enough if results elsewhere go against them, but the hosts will not be giving up yet and should make this an attacking game against Dortmund.

The Italian outfit have hit some form of late on the domestic stage and they have been particularly impressive in the final third, having scored twice or more in each of their last five assignments.

That scoring prowess should be enough to notch against a Dortmund side that have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight fixtures, conceding 16 goals during this period.

But BVB have saved their better performances for Europe this season, recording wins over Club Brugge (3-0), Celtic (7-1), Sturm Graz (1-0) and Dinamo Zagreb (3-0), while there were plenty of goals in defeats to Real Madrid (5-2) and Barcelona (3-2).

With the possibility of finishing the penultimate round of fixtures in the top-eight positions, Dortmund can end their losing run and return to winning ways in an entertaining way.

Back Borussia Dortmund to win and both teams to score at 2/1 with LiveScore Bet

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