(Getty)
Borussia Dortmund head to Portugal this week looking to snap out of a funk in Champions League action.
Dortmund have been slipping in the Bundesliga, and are now trailing Bayern Munich by 15 points after 20 fixtures. Their last loss was to relegation candidate Darmstadt, and they did not resemble the Champions League team that bested Real Madrid for the top spot in Group F.
But now Dortmund return to Champions League action, this time against the current league leaders in Portugal. Benfica hold a slim lead in pursuit of a 36th Primeira Liga title, but have struggled at this stage of European competition.
The Portuguese club are in the Knockout round for the second consecutive year, the first time that’s happened in club history. They barely reached this round, advancing behind Napoli in Group B with eight points despite having a goal differential of zero.
Mario Gotze did not make the trip with Dortmund, but Marcel Schmelzer could return to action after sitting out the loss to Darmstadt. Benfica will need their striker Jonas if they want to challenge the Germans, but the Brazilian dynamo missed training on Monday with a back injury. His status for Tuesday is uncertain.
Here are the basics:
DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 2017
CHANNEL: Fox Sports 2
KICKOFF TIME: 2:45 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Estadio da Luz
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all the live stream information
LINEUP
Borussia Dortmund: Bürki, Piszczek, Sokratis, Bartra, Schmelzer, Weigl, Guerreiro, Durm, Reus, Dembélé, Aubameyang
Benfica: Ederson, N. Semedo, Luisão, Lindelof, Eliseu, Fejsa, Pizzi, Salvio, Carrillo, Rafa, Mitroglou
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Benfica: Time, Channel & Lineup