Dortmund host Villarreal in Champions League league-stage opener
Borussia Dortmund open their Champions League league-stage campaign at Signal Iduna Park against Villarreal, with kick-off on 8 September 2026.
The German side arrive in considerably better form, having won three of their last five matches, drawn one and lost one, a run that included a WWW start before a defeat and a draw. Villarreal, by contrast, managed just a single win in their last five, alongside two draws and two defeats.
A recent history favouring the hosts
The two sides met in this same competition last season, when Dortmund won 4-0 on 25 November 2025. That result sits alongside two friendly meetings, a 2-2 draw in August 2024 and a 2-0 win for Villarreal in July 2022, giving both clubs recent experience of facing one another.
With Dortmund's superior current form and their heavy win in the previous Champions League meeting, the hosts go into this matchday one fixture as the side with clear recent momentum, though Villarreal's ability to take points from testing form spells cannot be discounted entirely.