Borussia Dortmund target victory in Turin as Nico Kovac prepares for Juventus battle

The Bundesliga side, who reached the final in 2024, begin their European campaign at the Allianz Stadium against a Juventus team now led by Igor Tudor.

Kovac, who counts the Croatian as a friend, admitted his side respect the Bianconeri but insisted they had travelled to Italy with confidence.

"We have made good steps forward and we want to be competitive," Kovac told reporters. "We haven't decided exactly how we'll play yet, but we are totally ready. We will see if everyone is able to recover in time, but our squad has variety and competition. We have to find the right balance."

Dortmund prepared for the clash with a 2-0 win over Heidenheim at the weekend, which kept them second in the Bundesliga after three matches. 

Juventus also enjoyed a strong result in Serie A, beating Inter Milan 4-3 on Saturday, and Tudor has said he wants his side to show authority in Europe from the very first fixture.

Kovac acknowledged that the atmosphere in Turin will be difficult to handle. "It's an advantage for them. There will be 40,000 fans and we will have to resist the pressure," he said. "We saw the qualities of this team before. They have enormous potential, but we want to show tomorrow that we also have the quality to impose ourselves."

Speaking on his opposite number, Kovac added: "I am happy to go up against Igor. His coaching career doesn't surprise me. It is an exceptional achievement to have guided Juventus into the Champions League, and he did very well in France as well. Juventus have a lot of good players. We will see how it ends on Tuesday."

Dortmund are waiting on the fitness of Julian Brandt, who picked up a wrist injury and did not play against Heidenheim recently.

The Turin showdown is seen as one of the standout ties in the early rounds of the new Champions League format, where every point could prove crucial in securing a place in the knockout phase.