Battling for a heavyweight quarter-final clash with either Real Madrid or Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Monterrey collide in Tuesday's Club World Cup last-16 affair at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The German giants came up trumps in Group F to earn a date with their Mexican counterparts, who happily accepted the silver medal in Group E behind Inter Milan.

Match preview

Carrying the momentum forward from the end of the Bundesliga season - where they won their final five matches of the top-flight campaign - Borussia Dortmund are yet to suffer the bitter taste of defeat in this year's Club World Cup.

The 2023-24 Champions League runners-up were always anticipated to fend off the competition for top spot in Group F, and fend off the competition they did, but seven points from nine did not tell the entire story for BVB.

Indeed, Niko Kovac's men were stunted in a goalless draw with Fluminense first up, edged out South African outfit Mamelodi Sundowns in a seven-goal spectacular and beat Ulsan HD by just the one strike too.

Left-back Daniel Svensson was the beneficiary of Jobe Bellingham's first assist for Borussia Dortmund in that 1-0 victory on the final matchday, which was very much a case of job done for Kovac's side, as was the entire group stage.

While none of Dortmund's Group F displays were anything to write home about, the Bundesliga giants now head into the knockout phase riding a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions, last coming out on the wrong end of the scoreline in their 4-0 Champions League crushing at the hands of Barcelona.

Regular contenders in the Club World Cups of old, Mexican mammoths Monterrey also made it through the group stage without a single defeat to their name to finish as runners-up to Champions League silver medallists Inter Milan.

A highly respectable opening draw with the Nerazzurri and subsequent goalless stalemate with River Plate preceded a closing contest with Urawa Red Diamonds, where La Pandilla's fate was out of their own hands as they sat two points adrift of the Argentinians.

However, Inter did their bit for Monterrey by taking down River Plate 2-0, allowing Domenec Torrent's men to leapfrog the South American side by virtue of a 4-0 destruction of Urawa, who were torn to shreds in a 540-second surge.

Between minutes 30 and 39, Nelson Deossa, German Berterame and former Porto attacker Jesus Corona all helped themselves to goals, before Berterame made the net bulge again with just seconds remaining in added time.

Fresh from snapping a three-game winless streak in all tournaments, the five-time Mexican champions gear up for a maiden competitive meeting with a German club, while Dortmund also experience a showdown with a Liga MX outfit for the very first time.

Borussia Dortmund Club World Cup form:

DWW

Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):

Monterrey Club World Cup form:

DDW

Monterrey form (all competitions):

Team News

Bellingham's bright start to life in a Dortmund jersey is some consolation to the imminent loss of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who is now Chelsea-bound after the two clubs reportedly came to an agreement over a £55m transfer.

Gittens was not involved in the recent success over Ulsan amid the speculation anyway, but Julian Brandt was fit enough to make a substitute appearance despite breaking a bone in his wrist against Fluminense.

Whether Brandt will be risked from the start is another question entirely, but Maximilian Beier, Giovanni Reyna and Julien Duranville can provide alternative options in the attacking third if jellied legs come into play.

On Monterrey's end, Torrent will welcome experienced midfielder Jorge Rodriguez back from a ban on Tuesday; the 29-year-old sat out the thrashing of Urawa on account of an accumulation of yellow cards.

However, the manner of Monterrey's merciless win on matchday three means that the Pandilla coach may see little need to shuffle the pack, spelling bad news for former La Liga stars Lucas Ocampos and Sergio Canales, both of whom were unused substitutes last time out.

Nine months shy of his 40th birthday, Real Madrid and Spain icon Sergio Ramos sports the captain's armband from the heart of defence.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Bensebaini; Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson; Adeyemi, Bellingham; Guirassy

Monterrey possible starting lineup:

Andrada; Chavez, Medina, Ramos, Arteaga; Deossa, Rodriguez, Torres; Corona; Berterame, Alvarado

We say: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Monterrey

It is anybody's guess as to which version of Dortmund will show up in Atlanta, but if BVB can nullify the Ramos threat from set-pieces, their defence ought to hold out.

At the other end of the field, Kovac's men may only need the one strike to seal their progression to the last eight, in keeping with their recent trend of closely-fought contests.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Ben Knapton

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