With Borussia Dortmund expected to win with room to spare on Tuesday night, the home team merit support to overcome a -1 start on the handicap. The Black and Yellow brilliantly dismantled Celtic 7-1 in their opening home game in this season’s Champions League.

They also cleared this proposed handicap by beating Club Brugge 3-0 away from home on matchday one. On top of this, Dortmund have delivered a victory by a two-goal margin or more in three of their five Bundesliga triumphs this term.

While Sturm Graz lost narrowly to both Brest and Club Brugge, they were comfortably dispatched 2-0 when playing host to Sporting Lisbon on matchday three. A trip to the Westfalenstadion will represent an upgrade on each of their previous three challenges, making Dortmund an appealing option to clear a -1 hurdle on the handicap.

Given Sturm Graz’s habit for tackling their way into trouble, it makes sense to side with them to pick up at least two yellow cards at Signal Iduna Park. The Austrian Bundesliga side have been shown two or more cards in each of their opening three league phase assignments.

In their one and only away game so far, Christian Ilzer’s team clocked up four cautions and had a man sent off. They collected no fewer than five bookings when losing 1-0 at home to Club Brugge, and a further two cards were to follow in a 2-0 loss at home to Sporting Lisbon. It’s also worth pointing out that Sturm Graz are averaging 2.42 yellow cards per-game in the Austrian top-flight this term.

Celtic were shown two yellow cards during Dortmund’s previous home game in this season’s Champions League. What’s more, three of BVB’s last four Bundesliga opponents have gone into the book on at least two occasions.

Given how goal-heavy Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League games have been this season, siding with a goal in each half stands out on Tuesday night. There have been a combined total of 18 goals scored across Dortmund’s opening three Champions League games of the season.

There were multiple goals either side of the interval in BVB’s win over Celtic as well as their defeat away at Real Madrid. It’s also worth noting that Dortmund themselves have scored in both halves in four of their five Bundesliga home games this season, including their most recent outing against RB Leipzig at the weekend.

Add to that the fact that there has been a goal in each half in two of Sturm Graz’s three league phase outings thus far, then a repeat looks worth siding with a Signal Iduna Park on matchday four.

Jusuf Gazibegovic looks like a prime candidate to commit a minimum of one foul on Tuesday night. The Sturm Graz right-back has given away a combined total of four free-kicks across his three appearances in the league phase thus far, including three away at Brest on matchday one. The Bosnian defender has also committed at least one foul in three of his four appearances for his country in this year’s Nations League.

There is plenty of scope for that trend to continue on Tuesday night given that he is likely to be up against Jamie Gittens. The Dortmund winger has drawn a minimum of one foul from the opposition in six of his nine Bundesliga outings this season. He was also fouled during BVB’s 7-1 win over Celtic.

Borussia Dortmund have made a habit of scoring early in each of their last two Champions League games. That pair of fast starts coincided with Nuri Sahin’s side finding themselves in front at half-time. In fact, BVB were 2-0 up at the break at the Santiago Bernabéu before going on to lose 5-2 in the second-half.

As for their previous home game in the Champions League, Dortmund produced a devastating first-half display to fly into a 5-1 lead at the halfway period. The German heavyweights have also led at the interval in two of their last four Bundesliga home games.

In contrast, Sturm Graz have been trailing at half-time in two of their three league phase games, including each of their last two, and a repeat looks likely in front of the famed Yellow Wall.

Look to Sturm Graz to collect the most cards when they take on Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. The Austrian outfit have shown a real lack of discipline across their opening three games of the Champions League. No team has received more yellow cards than Sturm Graz (13) in the new look league phase thus far.

Christian Ilzer’s side were also shown a red card when losing 2-1 at Brest on matchday one. In fact, Sturm Graz have received the most cards in each of their respective clashes with Brest, Club Brugge and Sporting Lisbon across the opening three rounds of action.

Given that a trip to Borussia Dortmund will represent their toughest test so far, that card sequence looks set to continue on Tuesday night. Nuri Sahin’s hosts have either been shown the same amount or fewer cards than that of their opponents in each of their three Champions League outings this season so far.

Serhou Guirassy has been one of Borussia Dortmund’s standout performers this season. The Guinea striker has hit the ground running since swapping Stuttgart for Signal Iduna Park over the summer. He notched his fifth Bundesliga goal in seven appearances for Dortmund during Saturday’s 2-1 win over RB Leipzig.

He also scored against Club Brugge on matchday one before bagging a brace in a 7-1 annihilation of Celtic. The prolific 28-year-old will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of facing a Sturm Graz defence that have leaked five goals across their opening three Champions League games.

Dimitri Lavalee is a player that has found himself on the referee’s radar in each of his two Champions League appearances for Sturm Graz this season. The Belgian left-back committed three fouls away at Brest on matchday one and he also sinned once against Sporting Lisbon. The 27-year-old has also been a serial offender in the Austrian Bundesliga this season, averaging 1.39 fouls per 90.

Lavalee will be assigned one of the trickiest tasks on the pitch on Tuesday night as he tries to keep Maximilian Beier quiet. The Dortmund winger has been fouled five times across his last three Bundesliga outings. Beier has also drawn fouls from the opposition in each of his two recent appearances for Germany, despite featuring as a second-half substitute on both occasions.