Borussia Dortmund will face Villarreal in the Champions League but will potentially have one area of the stadium empty
Borussia Dortmund’s match against Villarreal in the Champions League will have a noticeably empty section in the stadium this week. Dortmund and Villarreal will go head-to-head in each of the club’s first European matches of the season, with the fixture taking place at Signal Iduna Park.
However, one section of the famous stadium will have zero supporters watching from the stands, with Villarreal not filling their full allocation for away supporters.
Champions League rules allow away teams to have 5% of the overall capacity of a stadium available for travelling fans.
Dortmund’s home stadium has an overall capacity of around 81,000, meaning that Villarreal would have been entitled to just over 4,000 of their fans to watch the match inside the famous venue.
However, a report in Sport Bild has claimed that Villarreal has informed Dortmund that they will not fill their full allocation for the fixture.
It has been claimed that the Spanish club have sold just 39 tickets for away fans to watch the game in Germany, and as a result, has been given back to Dortmund for home fans.
The report further claims that, after being informed of Villarreal’s ticket sale numbers, Dortmund have decided to accommodate those fans in the West Stand, instead of the North East corner, which is typically reserved for away supporters. That will leave an entire section of the ground empty.
Dortmund boss Niko Kovac was quick to emphasise the difficulty of the match ahead for his team as they prepare to face a Villarreal side that finished third in La Liga last season.
"They finished third last year and are playing in the Champions League for the second year in a row," Kovac told said, via Dortmund's club website.
"Normally, the top three spots in Spain are locked up. If you break into that group (alongside Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid) that really says something!"
Kovac added: "They have a new coach now, but they continue to play the Spanish style with a lot of possession.
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"They're technically very sound and very precise in their execution. When they have the ball, this team makes very few mistakes.
"We'll have to make sure we reduce their time in possession. When we have the ball, they can't play their game and have to defend more, which will hopefully work in our favour. It's going to be a very difficult game."