Borussia Dortmund travel to the WWK Arena to take on Bundesliga strugglers Augsburg on Sunday, aiming to keep up the pressure on league leaders Bayern Munich at the top of the table.
Thomas Tuchel’s men lie eight points behind Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich going into the game against Augsburg, but have the opportunity to pull the Bavarians’ lead back to five points with a win on Sunday. With just seven rounds of Bundesliga games to go before the end of the season, Die Borussen have to win all their remaining games and hope that Bayern slip up in the near future.
Augsburg, meanwhile, are without a win in their last five games in all competitions, and could yet be dragged into a relegation dogfight. They currently lie 15th in the table, level on points with Hoffenheim and Frankfurt — two of the three teams below them in the division.
Lineups
Augsburg
Possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Hitz; Verhaegh (C), Gouweleeuw, Klavan, Max; Kohr, Baier; Esswein, Koo, Caiuby; Finnbogason
Dortmund
Possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Bürki; Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Hummels (C), Schmelzer; Şahin, Durm, Kagawa; Reus, Ramos, Mkhitaryan
Key Stats
- Augsburg have won just 1 of their last 10 Bundesliga games at the WWK Arena
- Dortmund have kept seven clean sheets in their last eight games in the league, conceding only against Hoffenheim
- The hosts are the only side along with Ingolstadt and bottom-placed Hannover to have failed to win any of their last four games
- Marco Reus could make his 200th Bundesliga appearance if selected by Thomas Tuchel on Sunday
- Dortmund have an excellent record against Augsburg, only losing once to them in eight previous meetings.
Prediction
Augsburg 0 – 1 Dortmund
Tuchel’s side will miss the presence of top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is set to miss the game after his grandfather’s passing, and could struggle after their trip to England in midweek.
However, Dortmund have enough quality in their attack to find a way through the Augsburg defence, and their ability to shut out the opposition should see them register a win and keep up the pressure on Bayern.
Odds (Bet365)
- Augsburg: 5.50
- Draw: 4.33
- Dortmund: 1.53