A HUGE TEST WITH ALL OF FOOTBALL WATCHING

A lot has changed since Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla FC were paired in the Champions League Round of 16 at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon. Dortmund secured their ticket to the knock-out rounds after topping a group containing Lazio, Bruges and Zenit, while Sevilla finished second, just below the mighty Chelsea. Only memories remain of an unusually quick group stage in which matches were mostly played in consecutive weeks, and now it is time to affront the knock-out rounds which will have three weeks in between each match.

The first leg takes places tonight in Nervión and Borussia Dortmund arrive in what would appear to be a lower than usual position for them in the Bundesliga. Edin Terzic, who took over from Lucien Favre just after the draw, and his team have not been able to push up the league and find themselves in the Europa League spots. However, Julen Lopetegui has made it clear that Dortmund's attacking talent makes them one of the strongest teams in the world in that regard. Leading the line for Dortmund will be one of football's upcoming superstars, the Norwegian Haaland.

Haaland will lead the line tonight for Edin Terzic against Sevilla 

Burki, Zagadou, and Witsel remain in Germany through injury while Delaney, who has just become a father, has not travelled with the team. They are important absentees but Dortmund are no less of a threat and remain favourites given their history in the competition, with a Champions League trophy and a runners-up medal against Bayern Munich. Lopetegui remains without the Argentines Acuña and Ocampos, but it seems that Jesús Navas will make it back into the squad for today. After nine straight wins and seven clean sheets in a row, the team will be looking to keep the run going to be able to head to Germany with the best result possible to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.

The Dutch referee Danny Makkelie will be in charge of the match. This is not his first encounter with Sevilla, his last match being none other than the Europa League final in Cologne. He also refereed the historic match against United at Old Trafford and the 3-3 comeback at Anfield in the Champions League in 2018/19.