Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Lisbon Prediction & Picks - Champions League

Borussia Dortmund have won 3 of their last 5 matches against Shakhtar Donetsk (3-1) and Sporting CP (0-3) in the Champions League, and then at Heidenheim in the Bundesliga. However, the current 11th-placed Bundesliga team, 8 points off the top 4, surprisingly lost 2-0 at bottom-placed Bochum at the weekend. A win could have put BVB back in the race for Europe, but the team's inconsistency could cost them dearly at the end of the season.

Sporting CP shot themselves in the foot with a heavy first-leg defeat (0-3), and now see qualification for the last 16 as mission impossible. This is the 3rd game in a row without success for the Portuguese league leaders, who have now drawn 2 Liga Sagres games at FC Porto (1-1) and at home to Arouca (2-2) on February 15th. Benfica, who have won their last two matches, are now 2 points behind Sporting CP in the title race.

Borussia Dortmund will be without Felix Nmecha for this return play-off. Carney Chukwuemeka and Ramy Bensebaini make their return to the starting line-up, but Niko Kovac has already announced that it is too early for them to start, and that they could probably get a few minutes late on. Young defender Filippo Mane remains a doubt.

Borussia Dortmund will still be able to count on their striker and Europe's top scorer, Serhou Guirassy, who is putting in a fine performance in the Champions League with 10 goals and 3 assists to his name. The Guinean international, who scored in the first leg, has now scored 6 goals in his last 7 games. With a total of 19 goals in 29 official club appearances, Guirassy is BVB's strongest man.

Sporting CP will be on the move and will have to cope without a number of players. As a result, Daniel Braganca, Geny Catamo, Pedro Goncalves, Hidemasa Morita, Nuno Santos, Jerry St. Juste, Trincao and Viktor Gyökeres are unlikely to make the trip.

The 19-year-old Danish striker Conrad Harder has been making a name for himself in recent weeks, scoring 3 goals and providing 2 assists in his last 5 appearances. With a goal and an assist on the final day of the Liga Sagres this weekend against Arouca (2-2), the Dane, who has already scored in the Champions League this season, could take advantage of Viktor Gyokeres' absence to shine again.