Gunners, Dortmund and Napoli all level on six points after the
opening three rounds of fixtures, while Marseille have bared the
brunt of the punishment, sitting rock bottom after three
successive defeats.
Arsene Wenger's Premier League leaders will now head to
Germany looking to avenge their 2-1 home defeat in the reverse
fixture in October, and head into the tie on the back of an
impressive 2-0 win over Liverpool in the English top flight.
That result took the north London giants five points clear in the
English standings, giving the side plenty of confidence ahead of
another grueling test.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp's men, European Cup runners-up last
season, are also flying high in the Bundesliga and trail leaders
Bayern Munich by only a single point, while they have won their
last seven home matches in continental action and eight in all
competitions this term.
To add to that, Dortmund have also never lost on home soil to an
English side in the Champions League, winning four and drawing
three, although the last time Arsenal traveled to Germany they
came away with the scalp of Bayern Munich in one of only two
defeats the eventual Bundesliga winners suffered that season.
Klopp, who is set to return from a two-match UEFA touchline
ban, will be looking to Robert Lewandowski to continue leading the
line up front, having netted a hat-trick in the 6-1 thrashing of
Stuttgart on Friday.
However, Klopp will be without captain Sebastian Kehl (ankle),
Lukasz Piszczek (groin) and Ilkay Gundogan (back).
For Arsenal, the match is thought to have come too soon for
Mathieu Flamini, who sat out this weekend's win over the Reds,
while Theo Walcott (abdomen), Lukas Podolski (hamstring), Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby (both knee) remain long-term
casualties.
Another blow for Wenger is the news Jack Wilshere rolled his
ankle in training on Monday and will not feature, meaning the
Frenchman is likely to stick to the same XI that started at the
Emirates on Saturday, with Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey -
goal scorers on the day - lining up in the middle along with Mesut
Ozil.
