Dortmund's Champions League draw: Complete head-to-head record against all League Phase opponents
The highly anticipated Champions League draw took place on Thursday and it didn't disappoint. Not certainly for Borussia Dortmund fans, who were relieved to see rather straight-forward matchups, besides two.
Premier League winners Arsenal and Serie A champions Inter Milan will be the toughest fixtures for the BVB in the first round, while Real Betis and Villarreal are the two Spanish teams they'd be coming up against.
Aston Villa make up another English opponent for Dortmund, while Greek champions AEK Athens, Norway's Bodo/Glimt and Azeri debutants Sabah have also been drawn against Niko Kovac's side for the League Phase.
Here's Dortmund's complete head-to-head record against each of these teams:
1) Arsenal
Dortmund have played Arsenal eight times in history, winning only thrice while losing four. The only time these sides drew was in 2011, a 1-1 stalemate in Dortmund.
Another interesting point to note is all their Champions League clashes have come in the group stages, and during the Arsene Wenger-era.
This marks their first meeting since the legendary Arsenal manager stepped down in 2018.
2) Inter Milan
There have been seven meetings between Dortmund and Inter, most recently in 2025, and the Serie A champions boast a superior head-to-head record with four wins, including a late 2-0 surge last year.
The BVB have only managed to find success against them twice, once in their UEFA Cup quarter-final clash in 1994 (2-1 away) and a 3-2 comeback win in 2019-20 group stages.
3) Aston Villa
A new fixture on the cards here, as Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa face off for the first time in history.
The Villans will be the ninth English team that BVB would face in Europe after Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle United, West Ham and Manchester United.
4) Real Betis
Another first meeting. What makes this one special, is that it reunites Dortmund with one of their former stars Marc Bartra, who currently plies his trade with Real Betis.
He spent two years with Die Borussen from 2016 to 2018, during which time he made 51 appearances for the club.
Betis would also be the 10th Spanish team that Dortmund will face in their European history.
5) Villarreal
Speaking of Spanish teams, Dortmund faced Villarreal for the first time last year. The sides met in the League Phase of the competition and the BVB secured a 4-0 rout at home.
This year, they meet again, and in Dortmund again.
6) Bodo/Glimt
Borussia Dortmund and Bodo/Glimt also met in the first round of the Champions League last year, playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
While that was in Dortmund, their second official encounter will be in Bodo, where punishing winters are set to test the BVB.
7) AEK Athens
Dortmund rarely play teams from Greece. In fact, they've had just four games against a team from the Balkan nation, two each against Olympiacos and PAOK.
Now, a third side awaits as new Greek champions AEK Athens visit Westfalonstadion for an enticing clash that pits Dortmund summer arrivals Konstantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias against a side from their home country.
8) Sabah
Since this is Sabah's first foray into the Champions League, it obviously means their clash against Dortmund would also be the first in the competition.
In fact, the Azeri side had never reached the group stages of any major European tournament before this.
But Die Borussen aren't oblivious to Azeri sides, having played Qarabag in the 2010-11 Europa League qualifiers and FK Gabala in the 2015-16 group stages of the same tournament.
Interestingly, the BVB won on all four occasions.
