Borussia Dortmund are in desperate need of three points as they play hosts to Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund are in a crisis at the moment. After a healthy run of form in January, the Black and Yellows started the month with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen. It was followed by a 4-2 loss to Rangers in the UEFA Europa League, with the team needing a 3-0 victory in the second leg to qualify for the Round of 16.
A potential exit from the UEFA Europa League could leave Dortmund with nothing to play for during the remaining three months of the season. It has put immense pressure on coach Marco Rose, whose side have notoriously failed to win a single crunch game this season.
Although the board has opted to back the German tactician, it will be imperative for Rose to guide his team to a victory when they take on his former side Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday. Rose will also eye retribution as the Foals had beaten his Dortmund team in the reverse fixture – a 1-0 defeat that helped Bayern Munich gain the upper hand in the title chase.
Since then, Gladbach have gone on to endure a poor season under new coach Adi Hutter. They are currently languishing in 13th place in the league table, just four points ahead of the drop zone. The recent announcement of long-serving sporting director Max Eberl’s departure has rubbed salt into the wounds of the club, who are looking for an upturn of fortunes.
A spirited 3-2 win over FC Augsburg last weekend could give the Foals the momentum they are looking for as they take on Dortmund, who are still reeling from the midweek loss to Rangers.
Team News & Tactics
Borussia Dortmund
Marco Rose had some bad news on the injury front ahead of the game, confirming the injury of Manuel Akanji, who is set to be out for at least three weeks. He is joined by Erling Haaland, Mateu Morey and Thomas Meunier in the club’s list of absentees.
? Marco Rose:
"Erling is not a topic for the game. Marius could become an option. Thomas Meunier is not yet in team training. Manuel Akanji will be out for about 3 weeks with a torn muscle fibre in his calf."#BVB pic.twitter.com/yPX1LQxSvK
— BVB Newsblog (@bvbnewsblog) February 19, 2022
On the bright side, Emre Can should be back in contention, while Marius Wolf could be an option as well. Can is expected to occupy the right-back role in the absence of Akanji, Meunier and Morey. He is likely to be partnered by Mats Hummels and Dan-Axel Zagadou, with Raphael Guerreiro assuming the left-back role.
It won’t be surprising to see Hummels, Can, and Zagadou forming a back three, giving Guerreiro the opportunity to camp himself in the opposition half. The Portuguese international, after all, plays a vital role in Dortmund’s chance-creation, and his link-up play with the attackers could be invaluable this weekend.
There should be no changes in midfield, with Mahmoud Dahoud and Axel Witsel once again forming the double-pivot, just ahead of three number tens. Rose, though, could ring in the changes in the Dortmund frontline after a poor performance against Rangers in midweek.
While captain Marco Reus and midfielder Jude Bellingham remain guaranteed starters, Giovanni Reyna could come in for Julian Brandt. Another change could see Youssoufa Moukoko replacing Donyell Malen as Dortmund look to give the youngster an opportunity to impress in the absence of Haaland.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Can, Hummels, Zagadou, Guerreiro; Witsel, Dahoud; Bellingham, Reus, Reyna; Moukoko
Borussia Monchengladbach
Borussia Monchengladbach won’t have to deal with too many absentees apart from Lars Stindl. The visitors are also unlikely to tinker with a 3-4-2-1 setup that will look to exploit Dortmund’s leaky backline.
?️ Hütter: "We're still shipping too many goals, but we mustn't forget that we put in a good performance in a difficult situation against Augsburg. We had the right mentality and could have scored even more goals."#DieFohlen #BVBBMG pic.twitter.com/qQeFuqugOE
— Gladbach (@borussia_en) February 18, 2022
Breel Embolo, for one, will seek to cause problems for Zagadou with his strength and movement in the final third. The same can be said for supporting attackers Alassane Plea and Jonas Hofmann, who is the club’s top scorer this season with eight goals. Hutter has significant firepower on the bench as well, in the form of Marcus Thuram and Patrick Herrmann.
Moving to the midfield, Kouadio Kone was the star man when Gladbach beat Dortmund in the reverse fixture. The midfielder is hoping for a similar performance this time around as he partners Florian Neuhaus in the double-pivot.
Elsewhere in the second line of press, the onus will be on the two wing-backs in Stefan Lainer and Ramy Bensebaini to offer the width going forward. Lainer, in particular, could pose a threat for the Dortmund defence on the far side thanks to his marauding runs going forward, whereas Bensebaini could play a more conservative role.
Defensively, there should be no changes as Matthias Ginter, Nico Elvedi, and Marvin Friedrich continue to form the back three that will protect Yann Sommer in goal. Friedrich remains a danger man for Dortmund on set-pieces, while Ginter and Elvedi are no slouches either when it comes to finding the back of the net.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Sommer; Ginter, Friechrich, Elvedi; Lainer, Kone, Neuhaus, Bensebaini; Hofmann, Plea; Embolo
Key Stats
- Jude Bellingham, who made his Bundesliga debut against Gladbach, is set to make his 50th appearance in the German top flight.
- Marco Reus produced 41 goals and 28 assists in 109 competitive appearances for Gladbach. Mo Dahoud, Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz are also ex-Gladbach players. Jonas Hofmann and Matthias Ginter, meanwhile, are former Dortmund players.
- Borussia Dortmund have scored at least twice in all 11 of their Bundesliga home games this season (33 goals in total, which is as many as Bayern). Only Leipzig have scored more in front of their own fans.
- Jonas Hofmann is enjoying his career-best scoring form, with eight goals for the season. He struck five times in 59 outings for Dortmund.
- Gladbach are the only team to have stopped Dortmund from scoring in Die Schwarz-Gelben‘s last 54 Bundesliga matches in this season’s reverse fixture (1-0).
Player to Watch
Dan-Axel Zagadou
Even if #BVB by some miracle get a good result out of this, the first 60 minutes will raise plenty of questions about Rose but also about Zagadou's future not just in the club but the Bundesliga.
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) February 17, 2022
Dan-Axel Zagadou has become one of the most talked-about figures in the Dortmund squad following a series of poor performances since returning from injury. The defender retains faith from the Dortmund board, who are keen on extending his contract that expires at the end of the season.
However, it appears a large section of the Dortmund fans have lost their faith in the player, with many calling for his departure next summer. Indeed, Zagadou has shown very little to earn himself a new contract at Dortmund and given his recent performances, coupled with pressure from fans, it won’t be surprising to see the BVB board make a U-turn on their decision to extend the defender’s deal.
The upcoming game against Gladbach could be an important one for Zagadou. Especially with Akanji injured, the onus will be on the French-Ivorian to produce a solid display in defence and help Dortmund keep back-to-back clean sheets in the Bundesliga for the first time this season.
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Borussia Monchengladbach
The Borussia Derby this weekend promises to be an entertaining affair given the attacking quality both sides possess. They have an equally poor defence that could see this game offer us loads of goals. Dortmund remain the favourites given their strong record at home in the Bundesliga, but given their shortcomings at the back, this game could be decided by the smallest of margins.
