Borussia Dortmund will endeavour to complete an unbeaten pre-season period when they host a waning Ajax side at the Westfalenstadion on Sunday afternoon.
Edin Terzic's side capped off a recent USA tour with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea, while their Dutch counterparts suffered a 3-1 loss to the hosts' Bundesliga rivals Augsburg on July 29.
Match preview
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Last season's heartbreaking end to the Bundesliga campaign and inevitable transfer of Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid has only served as motivation for a goal-happy Borussia Dortmund side, who had won five friendlies on the bounce before tackling Chelsea in Chicago on Wednesday.
Westfalia Rhynern, Rot-Weiss Oberhausen, Rot-Weiss Erfurt, San Diego Loyal and Manchester United had all fallen to BVB's superiority earlier this summer, and Terzic's side were on course for a sixth successive win when Marius Wolf drew first blood against Chelsea in the 80th minute, but the Blues responded in the dying embers through Mason Burstow.
Dortmund may have failed to complete their revenge mission over Chelsea following last season's Champions League exit, but Terzic should only feel immense pride with his side's efforts during the exhibition period, which draws to a close with Sunday's visit of Ajax.
The Black and Yellows restart their competitive duties in the DFB-Pokal, as a trip to minnows Schott Mainz awaits in the first round on August 12, before their next quest for Bundesliga glory kicks off at home to FC Koln seven days later.
While previous stalwarts such as Bellingham, Raphael Guerreiro, Mahmoud Dahoud and Nico Schulz have all departed to take on new adventures, Dortmund's marquee arrivals include Marcel Sabitzer, Ramy Bensebaini and Felix Nmecha, but Ajax's preparatory period has not been as joyful.
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Still struggling to adapt to life without Erik ten Hag at the helm, the 36-time Eredivisie champions lost their grip on the Dutch top-flight crown last term, labouring to a third-placed finish behind PSV Eindhoven and current holders Feyenoord with 69 points to their name.
The Alfred Schreuder experiment did not bear fruit for Ajax, and while former defender John Heitinga oversaw an immediate period of improvement upon his appointment, the Amsterdam giants won just four of their last nine Eredivisie games to settle for a spot in the Europa League playoff round.
Now under the wing of Maurice Steijn - who came agonisingly close to leading Sparta Rotterdam to a place on the continent last season - Ajax opened their pre-season campaign in respectable fashion, drawing 2-2 with Den Bosch before putting three goals past Shakhtar Donetsk without reply.
However, Steijn's side have since gone down 3-0 to Anderlecht and 3-1 to Augsburg either side of a 5-3 triumph over SpVgg Unterhaching, although they have been handed a relatively kind opening Eredivisie match at home to Heracles Almelo on August 12.
The visitors' record against Dortmund makes for pleasant reading, though, as Ajax have prevailed in four of their six previous Champions League clashes with BVB, including a pair of 4-0 and 3-1 wins during the 2021-22 group stage before their dismal downfall.
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Dortmund returned home from their USA tour with several bumps and bruises, and Terzic has now lost right-back Thomas Meunier to a serious muscular injury, which will render him unavailable for several weeks.
First-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel also sat out the draw with Chelsea due to a minor issue, which may threaten his participation in Sunday's game, and the same can be said for Nico Schlotterbeck, even though scans on a suspected knee problem provided reassuring results.
Julien Duranville (muscle), Giovanni Reyna (ankle) and Mateu Morey (muscle) represent another trio of injury concerns for a depleted BVB, who should offer home debuts to all of Bensebaini, Sabitzer and Nmecha here.
Similarly, Ajax also had to navigate their recent defeat to Augsburg without a number of recognisable names, including Steven Berghuis and the in-demand Mohammed Kudus, both of whom are nursing knocks.
Remko Pasveer (hand fracture), Ahmetcan Kaplan (knee), Kian Fitz-Jim (ankle) and Amourricho van Axel Dongen (knock) are also recuperating from their various concerns, while Jurrien Timber, Calvin Bassey and Dusan Tadic have left for pastures new.
Meanwhile, Mexican duo Edson Alvarez and Jorge Sanchez are yet to return from their Gold Cup exertions with Mexico, but it remains to be seen if the former is still an Ajax player when the transfer window slams shut.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Meyer; Wolf, Sule, Hummels, Bensebaini; Ozcan, Sabitzer; Malen, Reus, Adeyemi; Haller
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Rensch, Aertssen, Hato, Wijndal; Van den Boomen, Klaassen; Daramy, Taylor, Bergwijn; Brobbey
We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Ajax
Despite an unenviable list of injuries, Dortmund have been firing on all cylinders in pre-season and should have little trouble asserting their dominance on home soil this weekend.
While Ajax also have their own fitness and international-related concerns bedevilling them, Steijn has plenty of issues to solve on the field as well, and Sunday's game could prove to be a humbling afternoon for the Amsterdam outfit.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
