Seeking to swiftly move on from their DFB-Pokal elimination in midweek, Borussia Dortmund welcome RB Leipzig to Westfalenstadion for an enticing Bundesliga clash on Saturday evening.
The two teams lock horns for the first time since April when Die Roten Bullen secured a 2-0 home win in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals en route to winning the cup.
Match preview
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For the fifth time in the last seven years, Borussia Dortmund have been knocked out in the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal after suffering a 2-0 away defeat to Stuttgart on Wednesday night.
Just 24 days after losing 2-1 to Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, Dortmund were put to the sword by Die Roten once again courtesy of second-half strikes from Serhou Guirassy and Silas, and the loss of four players through injury rubbed salt into BVB's wounds.
Sports coordinator Slaven Stanic has since been relieved of his duties due to an alleged strained relationship with head coach Edin Terzic, who is now tasked with lifting the spirits of his Dortmund players ahead of four matches in the space of just 11 days to conclude 2023 – back-to-back home games against Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain in the Bundesliga and Champions League respectively will be followed by two more top-flight fixtures versus Augsburg and Mainz 05.
Dortmund's early-season title hopes have taken a hit in recent weeks as they have only won one of their last five Bundesliga matches, conceding 12 goals in the process, and they have subsequently slipped down to fifth in the table, one point behind Saturday's opponents Leipzig in fourth and 10 points adrift of leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
BVB have come out on top in four of their last five matches at Westfalenstadion, though, while they beat Leipzig 2-1 in their last home meeting in March which bodes well ahead of Saturday's clash.
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Following back-to-back defeats against Wolfsburg and Manchester City, Leipzig returned to winning ways when they beat Heidenheim 2-1 on home soil last weekend.
Lois Openda scored his 10th Bundesliga goal of the season before Yussuf Poulsen added a second to put Leipzig in control. Benedikt Gimber then pulled one back for the visitors on the stroke of half time, but Leipzig eventually held on to claim maximum points.
Marco Rose's men have now won eight of their first 13 Bundesliga matches this season and have climbed into the top four; only in their debut top-flight season (2016-17) have Die Roten Bullen won as many games at this stage.
Leipzig initially made a strong start to the campaign on the road, winning five of their first six away games, but they travel to Dortmund on Saturday having lost four of their last five away fixtures in all competitions.
However, their recent record against Dortmund ought to stand them in good stead, as they have won four of their previous five competitive meetings and have scored 12 goals in the process over the last two seasons, beating BVB more than any other team during this period.
Team News
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Marius Wolf (ankle), Marcel Sabitzer (knock), Youssoufa Moukoko (thigh) and Julian Ryerson (knee) all picked up injuries in the midweek loss to Stuttgart, while Sebastien Haller (knee), Felix Nmecha (hip) and Julien Duranville (thigh) are also in the treatment room.
Defender Niklas Sule and attacker Giovanni Reyna were both absent in midweek due to illness, but the duo could be in a position to return to the matchday squad on the Saturday.
Terzic will likely revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation after using a three-at-the-back system against Stuttgart, with Ramy Bensebaini, Julian Brandt, Marco Reus, Donyell Malen and Niclas Fullkrug all in contention to return to the first XI.
As for Leipzig, Dani Olmo is ruled out for several weeks with a shoulder injury, while Willi Orban and El Chadaille Bitshiabu have both begun light training following spells out with knee injuries, but Saturday's game will come too soon for the pair.
Timo Werner, who has missed the last three games with a groin problem, will be assessed ahead of kickoff, while Benjamin Henrichs recovered from illness to start at right-back against Heidenheim and he should retain his place in the first XI this weekend.
Openda has scored nine goals in his last 10 games across all competitions and is set to be supported in attack by Poulsen, who has found the net in back-to-back Bundesliga matches, meaning that Benjamin Sesko is once again set to begin as a substitute.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Sule, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Can, Ozcan; Adeyemi, Reus, Malen; Fullkrug
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Haidara, Schlager; Kampl, Simons; Poulsen, Openda
We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-4 RB Leipzig
Goals are to be expected in this highly-anticipated contest as the net has rippled at least three times in 10 of the last 14 meetings between these two teams.
Leipzig have had plenty of joy over Dortmund in the last few years and we feel that Rose's men, refreshed after a week off, have the firepower to cause problems in the final third once again when they face a depleted and deflated BVB outfit who have been conceding goals for fun of late.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
