The Signal Iduna Park hosts a Bundesliga dead-rubber on Saturday, as Borussia Dortmund and doomed SV Darmstadt 98 close out their domestic campaigns.
The Champions League finalists are guaranteed to end the campaign in fifth spot no matter what else transpires, while their visitors are preparing for life back in the second tier.
Match preview
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A rude awakening was inflicted upon Edin Terzic's side last weekend, as after the highs of defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals, BVB's party was spoiled in a heavy 3-0 defeat to bottom-half battlers Mainz 05.
A rotated side were carved open three times within the opening 23 minutes, as Lee Jae-sung notched a brace after Leandro Barreiro had drawn first blood for Mainz, who guaranteed that they would not finish in the bottom two while slightly souring the Dortmund mood.
However, Terzic's men will be present in the 2024-25 Champions League regardless of the events of their final two games, as they are assured of a fifth-placed finish in the Bundesliga, sitting four points worse off than RB Leipzig and a staggering 14 clear of Eintracht Frankfurt in sixth position.
Germany's performance in European competitions this season earned the Bundesliga an additional Champions League berth, which could end up being a saving grace for Dortmund, who travel to Wembley for the European Cup final on June 1 boasting the underdogs label against Real Madrid.
The 2023-24 season will mark the first time since Jurgen Klopp's departure that Dortmund will not finish in the top four of the Bundesliga standings, and only two of their last five top-flight home games have ended in victory, but few will bet against Terzic's men making that three from six here.
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Barring a very brief purple patch in October, where back-to-back wins over Werder Bremen and Augsburg were achieved, the 2023-24 campaign will be best consigned to the back pages of Darmstadt's annals as they ready themselves for 2. Bundesliga football next season.
The die was cast for Saturday's visitors owing to a horrendous 22-game winless streak from October to April, and even though the Lilies snapped that barren sequence on April 20 by overcoming Koln 2-0, losing to Heidenheim the following weekend sealed their fate.
Since being condemned to second-tier football for 2024-25, Torsten Lieberknecht's men have continued to assume the role of whipping boys in the Bundesliga, shipping nine goals in consecutive defeats to Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim, the latter slaughtering them 6-0 on May 12.
If there is one crumb of comfort for the Lilies to cling onto for this weekend, it is the fact that 11 of their 17 top-flight points this season have actually been won on the road, and not since September have they suffered back-to-back defeats on rival territory.
Since then, the visitors have followed up their last five losses on the road with four draws and a victory, but Dortmund strolled past their demoted foes 3-0 in January and have never lost to the Lilies at the Signal Iduna Park, most recently hitting them for six without reply in 2016.
Team News
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As well as known absentees Ramy Bensebaini (knee), Sebastien Haller (ankle) and Julien Duranville (muscle), Dortmund travelled to Mainz without Gregor Kobel, Niclas Fullkrug, Karim Adeyemi, Mats Hummels and Marcel Sabitzer, all of whom were rested after their PSG exploits.
However, Terzic ought to revert to a near full-strength XI on the final day in order to keep his players ticking over, with ample time to recuperate before the Champions League final at the start of June, but Mateu Morey Bauza is a late doubt due to illness.
Jadon Sancho, Julian Ryerson, Emre Can and Ian Maatsen would be among those to return in that scenario, but in what will be his last home match in Dortmund colours, club legend Marco Reus should certainly make the first XI.
Regarding Darmstadt's situation, defender Jannik Muller must serve a one-match suspension on the final day owing to an accumulation of bookings, while both Fabian Nurnberger and Emir Karic had to be forced off in the Hoffenheim trouncing; the former is now facing months out with a dislocated shoulder.
Fraser Hornby (ankle), Braydon Manu (muscle), Fabian Holland (ACL), Clemens Riedel (ankle), Bartol Franjic (unspecified) and Sebastian Polter (illness) are in the care of the doctors too, and they have been joined by a wave of new absentees in Aaron Seydel (illness), Gerrit Holtmann (back) and Luca Pfeiffer (foot).
Thankfully for Lieberknecht, he has a fresh-legged replacement for the banned Muller in the shape of Christoph Zimmermann, back from his own suspension served in the penultimate weekend.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Can, Sabitzer; Sancho, Reus, Adeyemi; Fullkrug
SV Darmstadt 98 possible starting lineup:
Brunst; Zimmermann, Klarer, Maglica; Karic, Justvan, Mehlem, Isherwood; Skarke, Vilhelmsson, Honsak
We say: Borussia Dortmund 5-0 SV Darmstadt 98
Dortmund's progression to the Champions League final has come at a cost in terms of their Bundesliga performance, but Terzic's well-rested men should end the domestic season on the highest of highs.
While Darmstadt have been better on the road this term, the doomed visitors will not go gung-ho for a shock Signal Iduna Park scalp and could end up shipping a few to their esteemed counterparts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
