Borussia Dortmund welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to Signal Iduna Park in Saturday's late kickoff on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga.

Both sides have new men in charge after taking part in this summer's managerial merry-go-round in Germany.

Match preview

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Borussia Dortmund begin the new campaign with the hope of finally managing to compete with giants Bayern Munich for the title throughout the entire season, rather than just for short periods.

Consistency was again the issue for Dortmund last season, eventually managing to finish third behind RB Leipzig and champions Bayern.

For much of last season, it appeared that third place and Champions League football would be out of Dortmund's reach come the end of the season. However, a late rally saw them win their final seven league matches in a row and sneak back into the top four.

After Lucien Favre's sacking in December last year, assistant manager Erdin Terzic was trusted with the task of European qualification on an interim basis until the end of the season, which he eventually succeeded, as well as winning the DFB-Pokal.

Marco Rose has been brought in from Borussia Monchengladbach with the view to putting together a title challenge at last, and his first big challenge will be managing the loss of star player Jadon Sancho, who finally completed his move to Manchester United after a year-long saga.

However, the qualification for Champions League football again this season has meant that Dortmund have managed to hang onto other superstar Erling Braut Haaland for one more season, before his well-known release clause kicks in next summer. He had been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea this summer, before their move for Romelu Lukaku.

Meanwhile, the Sancho money has so far been spent on a new first-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel from Stuttgart and young Dutch forward Donyell Malen from PSV Eindhoven as a direct replacement.

Both are expected to make their Bundesliga debuts on Saturday against a Frankfurt side that they have only beaten once in the past five meetings.

Preparations have included four pre-season matches - two wins and two defeats - followed by a comfortable 3-0 win over third-tier side Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the DFB-Pokal at the weekend courtesy of an unsurprising hat-trick from Haaland.

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Frankfurt travel to Dortmund for the opener with a new manager in charge themselves. Adi Hutter left to join Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of last season - a void created as a result of Dortmund's capture of Marco Rose.

Hutter is a big loss for a side that he led to their best finish in the Bundesliga since 1994. The fifth-placed position was enough to secure Europa League qualification for the upcoming campaign, but they will undoubtedly be disappointed to have missed out on the Champions League by just one point and one place.

However, Frankfurt's response to missing out on fourth spot to Wolfsburg is to acquire the manager that stood in their way.

Oliver Glasner has been brought in after he suffered with strained relationships with those at the top of the club, with his current vision to now take his new side to where he took his previous.

As well as the loss of manager Hutter, the away side must find a way of coping with the loss of star striker Andre Silva to fellow European challengers RB Leipzig; the Portuguese forward scored a staggering 28 goals in 32 matches last season, whilst also contributing five assists too.

Luka Jovic has also returned to Real Madrid after a loan spell, so Glasner's first task is to replace the lost goals from his side.

Another task on the new man's to-do list will be to fix the side's patchy away form that hindered his new side last season. All of Frankfurt's league defeats came away from home, so they will not be too confident in their trip to the Signal Iduna Park for their first away encounter this season.

In terms of pre-season, three wins and two defeats in friendly matches have preceded a disappointing 2-0 defeat to third-tier side Waldhof Mannheim in the first round of the DFB-Pokal last weekend, that defeat occurring despite the naming of a strong lineup.

Team News

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Borussia Dortmund are set to hand debuts to new signings Kobel and Malen in their Bundesliga opener. Kobel is likely to take the number one spot in goal from Marwin Hitz and Roman Burki, whilst Malen looks to fill the gigantic hole left by Jadon Sancho in the forward positions.

At the other end of the pitch, Dortmund appear to be missing a number of senior defenders. Raphael Guerreiro, Mats Hummels, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Thomas Meunier, Soumaila Coulibaly, Mateu Morey and Marcel Schmelzer are all missing in a defensive crisis for the home side.

Julian Brandt is also not expected to be included, whilst Thomas Delaney and Marwin Hitz are doubtful with illnesses.

The away side are also looking to hand a Bundesliga debut to their own new forward Rafael Borre, who has been brought in to help fill the void left by Andre Silva, and he is expected to start.

Fellow newcomers Jens Petter Hauge and Jesper Lindstrom are expected to be involved but might not be ready to start.

In fact, Frankfurt have a near-full strength side to select from for the opening match, the only current doubts being Ragnar Ache (thigh) and Almamy Toure (also thigh).

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Passlack, Can, Akanji, Schulz; Reyna, Witsel, Dahoud; Reus; Malen, Haaland

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, N'Dicka; Da Costa, Sow, Rode, Kostic; Kamada, Younes; Borre

We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Goals should be expected between two attacking sides but the quality of Borussia Dortmund and home advantage should see them through. Any side that possesses Erling Haaland also gains a huge advantage, particularly after he has already begun the season with a hat-trick in his first match.

Written by
Matthew Tranter

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