Why Borussia Dortmund can't play Bayern Munich in the Champions League first phase
The UEFA Champions League draw takes place tonight in Monaco at 18:00 CET as Borussia Dortmund await their fate.
Die Borussen qualified for a 21st time in the competition's history after securing a second-place finish in the Bundesliga last season and are in Pot 2 of the draw.
With a new and exciting squad at their disposal, Dortmund are hoping to mount a deeper run in the Champions League this season than the last, where they were knocked out in the knockout playoffs.
They are firmly among the dark horses of the tournament this term and no team would be pleased to draw against them.
Dortmund can't draw Bayern
For the League Phase of the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund can't be drawn against Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, who beat them in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup last weekend.
According to UEFA's rules, a team cannot be drawn against another team from the same domestic top-flight in the first round, either home or away.
That eliminates the possibility of the Der Klassiker rivals facing off in Europe, for now. They could, however, face-off in the latter stages of the competition.
Dortmund may yet face two of two-time defending champions PSG, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the first round.
The last time the Bundesliga giants clashed in Europe was in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley which the Bavarians won 2-1.
Mario Mandzukic's second-half opener was canceled out by a penalty from Ilkay Gundogan, but Arjen Robben popped up with a latter winner for the eventual treble champions.
Although both teams have since regularly made it into the knockout stages of the competition, Dortmund and Bayern have been kept apart in the draws.
UEFA's regulations over teams from the same division means Dortmund also won't be facing RB Leipzig, who are in Pot 3, and VfB Stuttgart, in Pot 4, in the League Phase of the Champions League.
Another rule states that a fixture observed in the last two consecutive editions of the competition cannot be drawn for a third time in a row.
For example, if there's a team that Dortmund hosted at the Signal Iduna Park in the last two years, back-to-back, then it won't happen again this time. Same applies to vice-verse.
But interestingly, the BVB haven't seen any repeated opponents since the Champions League format was changed, facing 16 different teams since 2024-25 season.
