Seeking to put aside their midweek Champions League defeat, Borussia Dortmund welcome Wolfsburg to Westfalenstadion for a Bundesliga clash on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams are separated by just one point in the current Bundesliga standings, with BVB sitting in seventh place with eight points, one place and one point behind Wolfsburg in sixth.
Match preview
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Borussia Dortmund's unbeaten start to the new season came to an end on Tuesday night when they were beaten 2-0 against Paris Saint-Germain in their opening Group F fixture at the Parc des Princes.
Second-half strikes from Kylian Mbappe and former Dortmund loanee Achraf Hakimi sealed a comfortable win for the French giants, piling more pressure on BVB boss Edin Terzic following an indifferent start to the new campaign.
Although Dortmund are yet to lose in the Bundesliga so far this term, they dropped points in disappointing score draws against both VfL Bochum and newly-promoted Heidenheim either side of wins over Koln and Freiburg, beating the latter 4-2 on the road last weekend.
Terzic's men are only two points off the summit at this early stage in the campaign, though, and a home fixture against Wolfsburg is just what the doctor ordered, as they have enjoyed plenty of success versus their upcoming opponents in recent years.
Indeed, Dortmund have won each of their last five home meetings with Wolfsburg, keeping four clean sheets in the process; BVB most recently thrashed the Wolves 6-0 at Westfalenstadion in May this year, 13 months after cruising to a 6-1 home victory in the previous campaign.
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Wolfsburg may have only claimed one point more than Dortmund so far this season, but there is a greater sense of optimism among the Wolves' supporters following their bright start to the campaign, winning four of their opening five matches in all competitions.
After narrowly missing out on securing European football last season, Wolfsburg have since claimed maximum points against Heidenheim, Koln and Union Berlin this term, beating the latter 2-1 on home soil last weekend courtesy of strikes from Jonas Wind and summer signing Joakim Maehle.
Nico Kovac's side are now gearing up for what, on paper, seems like a challenging quartet of fixtures against Dortmund, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen. However, Wolfsburg managed to claim a total of 15 points out of 24 available across home and away fixtures against these four sides last season, losing just once in the process.
Wolfsburg, who beat Dortmund 2-0 at home in November last year, are seeking to win their first top-flight away game at Westfalenstadion since a 3-2 success in December 2012.
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Team News
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Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer was forced off in the first 14 minutes of the defeat at PSG with a groin injury and he will join Thomas Meunier (hamstring) and Mateu Morey (knee) on the sidelines.
Terzic will likely revert from a 3-5-2 formation to a more familiar 4-3-3 setup on Saturday, with Ramy Bensebaini set to be recalled at left-back at the expense of Niklas Sule, with either Marius Wolf or Julian Ryerson starting at right-back.
Felix Nmecha will be looking to start in centre-midfield against his former club, while Niclas Fullkrug appears to have shaken off a tendon issue after making two substitute outings in the last two matches, and the 30-year-old will likely compete with Sebastien Haller for a start in attack with Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi.
As for Wolfsburg, Kilian Fischer and Lukas Nmecha – the older brother of BVB's Felix – are both ruled out as they continue to recover from knee injuries.
Wind has made an impressive start to the new season, scoring six goals in his opening five games, and the Danish striker is expected to lead the line once again, with support provided in attack by Patrick Wimmer, Lovro Majer and Yannick Gerhardt.
Ridle Baku and Sebastiaan Bornauw will both be pushing to start in defence after beginning the last match as a substitute, but Kovac is set to stick with the same back four of Maehle, Maxence Lacroix, Mortiz Jenz and Rogerio.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Can, Brandt; Malen, Fullkrug, Adeyemi
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Maehle, Lacroix, Jenz, Rogerio; Svanberg, Arnold; Wimmer, Majer, Gerhardt; Wind
We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Wolfsburg
Dortmund may have thrashed Wolfsburg in their last two home meetings, but a tighter affair could be in store on Saturday considering that there is little to separate these two clubs in the early stages of the campaign.
Terzic will be seeking a response from his BVB players on home soil after their midweek loss in Europe, and we believe that they may just have the edge in the final third to claim all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
