Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Newcastle – Champions League LIVE: Niclas Fullkrug gives Germans first-half lead as Toon face uphill task to avoid second straight defeat

Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for the latest team news, scores and updates as Borussia Dortmund host Newcastle in the Champions League with both sides knowing a win can send them top of the group if only temporarily. 

Chance to Sabitzer

Sule breaks free down the right after some good play in the middle by Brandt, and the full back knocks it into the path of Sabitzer, but he can’t keep it down.

As much as Newcastle are looking somewhat more of a threat going forward, they still look shaky at the back in the face of direct runners.

Big 10 minutes to close out the half now from Howe’s side.

More composure from Newcastle

Newcastle again look to build a break from the middle, but Dortmund are so quick to latch onto anything less than inch-perfect.

This time it’s Brandt and Sabitzer that come flying forward to pin back the visitors right away.

It comes to nothing though, and the game is really starting to open up and become more end-to-end – at least in the middle third of the field.

Both teams looking to hit on the counter is often a byword for caginess, but this is much more front-footed.

Foul on Joelinton allows Newcastle to regroup on the halfway line.

Newcastle look to bite back straight away

It was a goal very much with the run of play, but can Newcastle find a response?

They look to do just that with Hall flying up the left, but his ball is cut out on the edge of the box.

Newcastle work it out to the right, before a switch of play from Trippier finds Hall again, only for his cross in to be headed clear by Hummels.

Suddenly Newcastle look far more up for this, and are seemingly calmer on the ball.

GOAL! Dortmund 1-0 Newcastle

Fullkrug puts the hosts ahead – and it’s been coming!

Dortmund have bodies flying forward after winning it in their own half, but it’s a very scrappy procession of passes to the box.

Plenty of chances for Newcastle to get a foot in but they’re all at sea, leaving Fullkrug free in the box to tap home from close range aftera cut back from Brandt.

The German striker puts his side 1-0 up and it’s a deserved lead!

Cute little corner from the visitors

A better corner from Newcastle, and a neat routine to boot, brings the best chance for the visitors so far.

If anything they over work it, with Wilson in acres at the back post but the Magpies can’t quite get it over to him.

Dortmund are straight down the other end, and only the foot of Guimaraes on the edge of the box can halt the relentless yellow waves.

Good play down the left for Newcastle

This time Newcastle are patient in building their way up the field, prompting a fair few jeers from the crowd.

It’s fired into Joelinton who deftly clips it into Willock’s path.

The former Arsenal man races up the left into space before putting a ball in at Wilson, but it’s just too long for the striker and goes out for a goal kick.

Not quite, but much better from the visitors.

Wilson isolated up top

When Newcastle do manage to get out of their half, there’s nobody supporting Wilson on his own up top.

There’s a massive swathe of the pitch in between the forward and Joelinton, and it’s all too easy for Dortmund to get round.

The Magpies do make their way up the field with a few passes in succession, but Trippier can’t be released down the right and Dortmund can recover the ball.

Tricky spell now for Newcastle

Another save for Pope, and this time it’s from Adeyemi.

It’s right at the keeper, but it’s still a concern for Howe that his side can let shots from close range come in in the middle of the park.

It’s a little spell of about five to 10 minutes here that Newcastle have to ride out and keep their clean sheet intact.

A poor pass out the back from Hummels will help, as the veteran sends it straight out for a goal kick from the halfway line.

First save of the night for Pope

And a first shot of intent now, as Fullkrug gets plenty behind his strike, having been laid off by goalscorer in thereverse clash Nmecha.

Pope is awake, alert and equal to it though, as he paws the thundering hit away from danger.

Newcastle had started well, but it’s the hosts now who are looking very dangerous, not letting the visitors out of their own third.

Offside flag halts Dortmund's progress

Newcastle play a very high line well outside their own box for the free-kick, and Hall miscues the clearance from Brandt’s set-piece, and another corner follows.

It gets a flick on at the near post before Joelinton thumps it clear.

Dortmund aren’t hanging about though, and their quick riposte is only halted by an offside flag out on the left flank to relieve some of the pressure.

Yellow card

The first signs of the crowd waking up as Hall tugs on the arm of Fullkrug to bring the big striker to a halt.

Hall will have had the pace on him to cut out the danger but the youngster puts in a perhaps sloppy foul and he’ll have to be on tenterhooks for the rest of the game now.

Brandt gets in behind

Dortmund afforded too much time to set themselves, and it’s one long ball that releases Adeyemi.

The forward knocks it square to Brandt on the right and he’s in behind but his shot is a rash, wild one.

Howe won’t like what he’s seen there, too easy for the hosts to work an attack.

Pinballing in the box but no danger

In it comes, but it’s a bit of a melee as it pinballs off a few heads.

Trippier then holds up Adeyemi, but the hosts cut out the counter and it goes all the way back to Kobel to reset.

Corner to Dortmund

First corner though goes to Dortmund, who break well through the middle before the speedster Adeyemi gets a deflection on his cross.

All Newcastle so far

It’s been all Newcastle so far, with the green shirts seeing plenty of the ball early on.

Plenty of territory, too, until a wayward header goes out for a chance to let Dortmund get some touches on the ball.

A knock to Willock?

The veteran Mats Hummels belies his years to make up the ground and cut out an attack from Joe Willock.

Looked to be a bit of contact with the former Arsenal star’s ankle and he was down in a heap for 20 seconds or so but he’s back up in his feet now.

Last thing Newcastle need right now, another injury.

KICK-OFF!

Away we go then at the Signal Iduna!

Disjointed but no less spine-tingling

It’s a disjointed rendition of the classic Champions League anthem, but no less spine-tingling.

Imagine what it’s like in the boots of Hall and Livramento, who were brought up on games like this, but now they get to experience it themselves.

Out they come

They’re in the tunnel now, and it must be a bit like coming out into the Collosseum as a visiting side.

There’s a deafening roar that I don’t think you can really prepare for fully, regardless of however many times you’ve seen a Dortmund game.

Bathed in a murkey red light, the players make their way out to the enormous Champions League logo on the pitch to some very thematic music.

The yellow and black flags are already waving in unison – can the visitors dampen a few spirits early on?

Dortmund and Terzic won't rest on their laurels

Dortmund boss Edin Terzic made it abundantly clear ahead of kick-off that his side would not be resting on the laurels of their victory last time out in the competition.

As he rightly points out, Newcastle have had a fair few impressive results since they last crossed paths, notably big wins over Man United and Arsenal.

‘We need to improve because we know that they [Newcastle] are not happy with the way that they performed at St James’ Park and they will want to do much better tomorrow. So if they are going to do it better, we have to do it better.

‘That’s something we have focused on, it is something we’re going to talk about with the team this afternoon, again to be ready for, and then we’ve got to do everything to also use the chance to get a home win and make a big step in the group.’

He added: ‘We know they are not happy with the way they performed two weeks ago. They are not happy; we are not happy with how we performed last Saturday.

‘We know that we have to be ready from the start and as you saw from the game two weeks ago, they had two great chances at the end of the game. It means we need a good start, we need a good performance and we need to stay focused until the end.’

Less than 10 to go now…

We’re less than 10 minutes away from kick-off now, and for this lot it’s been a long old day getting in the mood for a huge European clash.

'Fired up'

It’s going to have to be a special performance tonight though to get past Dortmund.

The German side are unbeaten in their last six Champions League home games, conceding just the one goal in that time.

Newcastle looking for a first win since 2003

The teams have been out going through the final stages of their warm-ups as we build up to what should be a fascinating clash with tow vibrant and exciting sides.

Newcastle will be looking for a first win over a German side in three attempts, having gone without a win in Europe over German teams since a run of four wins between 2001 and 2003.

Will tonight be the night, or could it be potentially another year before the Magpies get another crack at the Bundesliga’s best offerings?

Big noise expected tonight

The Signal Iduna as considered one of the louder stadiums going, but if there’s any fanbase capable of matching the Yellow Wall for noise, it’s the Magpies.

UCL debuts for Newcastle pair

Howe mentioned those two youngsters both starting today, but big day for both Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento.

Debuts in the competition for both starlets – can they go on to make their marks?

Who needs what this week?

We’re reaching that point in the tournament when a few tams start to look closer to qualification for the next round already.

Newcastle’s fate can’t be secured tonight, but can anyone get their names in the hat with a couple of games to go?

Check out Mail Sport’s guide to see who needs what this week to make it to the last 16.

Howe admits Champions League VAR is 'different'

Howe was also asked about the use of VAR in the Premier League vs the Champions League.

He was once again giving little away, replying: ‘Different, but I can’t think of whether it’s better or not’!

If you’re not quite sure on the relevance of VAR to Howe and Newcastle, then take a quick look at the link below…

Howe's keeping his cards close to his chest

Eddie Howe kept his cards close to his chest ahead of the game when he was asked about the reasons behind his team selection…

‘We hope the team can perform today, I think we’ve got a good mix in it.

‘You pick a team you want to but we needed to pick a team to show our athleticism. We believe in the players we have on the pitch, confidence should be high.

‘You can see what this game is going to be like in terms of atmosphere.’

And on Hall and Livramento both playing, he said: ‘When you lok at Hall’s performance at Old Trafford and he performed brilliantly, it’s the same with Tino. Tonight will be key experience for them.’

SEVEN first-team injuries

As Mail Sport’s Craig Hope alludes to, Newcastle are suffering from a few absences at the moment – so much so that they can’t even fill their bench.

Burn, Targett, Isak and Botman among the more notable absentees, as well as Barnes, Murphy, Anderson.

There aren’t too many teams that can handle seven first-team absentees, as well as the ban handed to Tonali, which makes ay result here in Dortmund all the more impressive, should they come away with anything here.

The glorious Signal Iduna

The Signal IDuna is one of those grounds, isn’t it, that you can always hear the noise even when it’s empty.

Doesn’t look half bad there does it?

ADRIAN KAJUMBA: Edin Terzic is ready to take down Newcastle again

As work experience goes, there isn’t a much better CV than Edin Terzic’s, who has learned the ropes under the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Slaven Bilic.

He’s spent his whole life as a fan of Dortmund, and has a chance to do the double over the Magpies tonight.

It was a tough task last time out, losing 4-0 in Der Klassiker to Bayern for a first league defeat of the season, but can Dortmund bounce back to dampen Newcastle’s optimism?

Have a look at what makes the Dortmund boss tick at the link below.

English managers struggle in Germany

Howe is looking to break a 20-year record tonight.

Strangely, no English manager has won away at a German side in the Champions League was Sir Bobby Robson.

He did it with Newcastle, earning a 3-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen in February 2003, but since then none have matched the feat.

Harry Redknapp (2-2 vs Werder Bremen), Frank Lampard (1-4 vs Bayern Munich) and Graham Potter (0-1 vs Dortmund) have all tried, but can Howe go one step further?

TEAM NEWS: Borussia Dortmund

And the hosts…

TEAM NEWS: Newcastle

Here’s how the visitors are lining up…

And speaking of United…

And speaking of United…

Their trevails are never too far away these days, but they are in fact less likely to win the Champions League than Newcastle now.

The Magpies might be on the better form in the Premier League, but they are in by far the worse group, yet Howe’s side are given a slightly better chance of going all the way.

For Newcastle it is a 2.5 per cent chance of success, while Erik ten Hag’s side are given just a 0.7 per cent chance by Opta.

For more on how the English side’s chances look, take a look at the link below.

Poor record against English sides for Dortmund

It may have been a 1-0 defeat first time rounf at home, but forthe Magpies there is at least one stat that can fill them with a bit of hope.

This is only the second time they’ve ever played Dortmund, but the German side have not beaten an English team home and away since 1996-97.

That time round it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United, falling to 1-0 defeats both times round in the semi-finals, with Dortmund going on to win the tournament in Munich against Juventus.

As many as '10,000 fans' in Dortmund

And the Toon Army are out in their droves, with reports suggesting as many as 10,000 Newcastle supporters have made the trip.

Dortmund’s Alten Markt is currently playing host ahead of kick-off to the visiting fans – not all of whom have tickets.

For more on that one, check out the link below.

A brisk night in Dortmund

The travelling Toon Army aren’t exactly famed for their subtlety, but you would’ve thought a crisp November evening in eastern Germany might warrant at least some long sleeves.

As low as around 9 degrees celsius by full-time, with a good 12 mpph of wind, although a blessed absence of any rain as it stands.

Wonder if they’ve brought a coat packed away somewhere – might well need it by the final whistle!

Here's what happened last time out…

To whet your appetites as we approach the hour-and-a-half to kick-off mark, let’s take a run through what happened when these last met a fortnight ago.

Obviously, those Magpies fans among you might not want to peruse this one…

Mixed bag for Howe's Toon Army

So it’s been a mixed bag for the Magpies on their return to the Champions League – quite literally.

A draw, win and loss from the opening round of games could be construed as a fair return.

A strong performance at the San Siro for a 0-0 draw could have earned a win on another day – although then again, had Rafael Leao thought to look just slightly to his left after a stunning run it could’ve been a 1-0 defeat.

PSG – who boast inarguably one of the best squads in the world – were met blow-for-blow and then some for a 4-1 win, before a 1-0 defeat at home to Borussia Dortmund last time out.

But there is more than enough to suggest that the Magpies can hold their own in the group, and make their way through to the Last 16.

A win out in Germany – as well as a draw for AC Milan vs PSG – could see the Toon on top of Group F tonight.

Good evening!

Good evening, good evening and welcome to tonight’s early evening offereing from the Champions League.

There are two 17.45 kick-offs today, but we’re going to be bringing you all the action from Newcastle’s enormous trip to Borussia Dortmund.

It’s a repeat of the Magpies’ last clash in the Champions League – and I’m sure they’ll be hoping for an improved result – but it could also see Eddie Howe’s side go top of the Group of Death… who’d have called that one with two games to go?

Kick-off is set for about an hour and 45 minutes away, but stick with us as we build up to the clash in Germany!

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