Follow live coverage of Zenit St Petersburg v Borussia Dortmund here

Hulk
Hulk in action against his former club Porto in the Champions League. [Reuters]

German giants Borussia Dortmund travel to Russia to take on Zenit St.Petersburg in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 5 pm GMT. Live coverage will be available on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD.

Overview

Zenit will not have a better chance of putting one over Dortmund with the Bundesliga club struggling to keep pace in the league, with little or no hope of claiming the title from Bayern Munich, who are 16 points clear at the top of the league. The Russians have not played a competitive game since December, which may prove to be their Achilles' heel against a side who in spite of being in poor form are very capable of turning over the best in Europe.

The Russians made it to the knockouts, having managed only one win against Porto and drawing three, which proved enough to accompany high flying Atletico Madrid in the next round. Zenit are currently top of the Russian league with forty points, level with Lokomotiv Moscow but ahead on goal difference. Zenit have to press the advantage in the home leg if they have to have any chance of qualifying, with Dortmund a force to reckon with at home.

Meanwhile, last year's finalists come into the game on the back of a 3-0 shock defeat against relegation threatened Hamburg and are currently 20 points behind Bayern, who are set to seal the Championship in as early as March. Dortmund qualified from a very tough group which included the likes of Arsenal and Napoli, each of whom finished with 12 points, leaving Ligue One club Marseille languishing at the bottom, having failed to open their score.

Manager Jurgen Klopp will be prioritizing the Champions League this season, having failed to make any noticeable impact thus far in the league. A win here will take them a step closer towards fulfilling their dream in Europe. However, a host of injuries to key players will be a major stumbling block in their pursuits.

Lewandowski dismisses English interest
IBTimes UK

What the Managers Say

Luciano Spalletti: "Dortmund are a very strong team who last year played in the Champions League final. That says a lot. In the Bundesliga there is one team out in front: Bayern Munchen. Dortmund are fighting for second place in the Bundesliga, one of the strongest European leagues. We're going to play one of the strongest opponents that we can possibly imagine. I don't know if our 100 per cent readiness is enough for us to reach Dortmund's level. But we're going to be 100 per cent ready."

Jurgen Klopp: "We watched all the Zenit games we could see including training games in Israel, and all the group games. We anticipate a very strong footballing team. Russian football has evolved considerably in recent years. This makes it very exciting for us."

Odds by 888Sport

Champions League Specials

Match to feature the most goals:

Schalke 04 vs Real Madrid – 5/4

Zenit Zt Petersburg vs Borussia Dortmund – 7/4

Olympiakos vs Manchester United – 15/4

Galatasaray vs Chelsea – 15/4

Team to score the most goals in the respective matches – 25th February:

Borussia Dortmund – 11/10

Manchester United – 9/4

Olympiakos – 13/4

Zenit St Petersburg – 7/2

Nationality of clubs with the most goals scored:

German teams – 5/4

English teams – 7/5

Spanish teams – 11/4

Any other nationality – 19/1

To score the most goals in the respective matches:

Robin Van Persie – 11/10

Robert Lewandowski – 4/6

Number of goals scored by Robin Van Persie and Robert Lewandowski:

0 – 6/4

1 – 6/4

2 – 7/2

3 or more – 13/2

Match to finish as a drawIndustry best 37/13

Form Guide

Zenit St.Petersburg

  • Last Five(all competitions, most recent first): L W D D L
  • Last Result: Austria Wein 4-1 Zenit

Borusia Dortmund

  • Last Five(all competitions, most recent first): L W W W W
  • Last Result: Hamburg 3-0 Borussia Dortmund

Team News

Zenit St. Petersburg

  • Injured: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A
  • Doubtful: N/A

Probable Line-Up: Lodygin; Ansaldi, Hubocan, Lombaerts, Criscito; Faizulin, Witsel, Shirokov, Zyryanov, Hulk; Kerzhakov

Borussia Dortmund

  • Injured: Ilkay Gundogan (spine), Sven Bender (pubic bone inflammation), Neven Subotic (knee), Jakub Blaszczykowski (knee), Mats Hummels(ankle)
  • Suspended: N/A
  • Doubtful: N/A

Probable Line-Up: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Friedrich, Papastathopoulos, Schmelzer; Aubameyang, Bender, Sahin, Grosskreutz; Reus; Lewandowski