Tuesday's preseason friendly between Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal is scheduled to take place at CASHPOINT Arena.
In anticipation of the upcoming Bundesliga season, Nuri Sahin, the new manager of Dortmund, will be hoping that his team can have a feel for his tactical approach. Meanwhile, Villarreal will be trying to qualify for Europe once more in the 2024–25 La Liga season.
If Borussia Dortmund had defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League final on June 1, their poor 2023–24 league season would have been forgotten, but their disappointment was further increased when they lost 2-0.
Dortmund ultimately lost to Madrid despite controlling the first half of the match and creating plenty of scoring opportunities. Goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior sealed the victory.
With 63 points from 34 games, the Black and Yellows finished fifth in the Bundesliga last season. This was a particularly disappointing league position given that they were unable to take advantage of Bayern Munich's shortcomings, since Bayern Munich lost the title match to Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso.
It should come as no surprise that former Dortmund player Edin Terzic chose to quit the team following the end of the 2023–24 season, as he had been criticized at the time for his too practical and reactive style of play.
Sahin, the current manager and a former member of the Black and Yellow team, was one of Terzic's assistant managers along with Sven Bender before being elevated to manager for a three-year term in the summer.
Given that Villarreal, their opponent, finished ninth in the league in 2023–24 with 53 points—11 fewer than they did in 2022–23—they also had a poor season.
Their 53 points actually marked their lowest return since the 2018–19 season, when they managed just 44 points.
The Yellow Submarine's failure to make it to Europe in the previous season was also a first since 2018–19, but at the very least, it should mean that manager Marcelino Garcia Toral is spending more time in the training area with his players.
Under Toral's leadership, Villarreal have won 15, drawn nine and lost eight matches, and they ended the La Liga season with just one defeat in their last eight games.
The Yellow Submarine drew their most recent pre-season friendly 0-0 against Nottingham Forest on August 2
After Quique Setien and Pacheta were fired, Toral became Villarreal's third permanent manager for the 2023–2024 season. Toral has been in control of the team since November 2023.
Villarreal has won 15, drawn nine, and lost eight games while playing under Toral's direction. They finished the La Liga season with just one loss in their final eight games.
On August 2, the Yellow Submarine and Nottingham Forest tied 0-0 in their most recent preseason friendly.
