Over nine years, under the sporting direction of Nils-Ole Book, SV Elversberg rose through the ranks of German football from the Regionalliga Südwest all the way to the 2. Bundesliga, and earned promotion to Germany’s top flight only months after his departure. Tomorrow, the team created in Book’s image will take on his current project, Borussia Dortmund.
Elversberg have thrived since arriving in the Bundesliga. They currently sit in 7th place in the Bundesliga, with big wins over Mainz and Leverkusen
and coming close to taking a point off Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Dortmund are in solid form, with a close victory over Real Betis on Wednesday and a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Allianz a week ago. Dortmund have home advantage, but Elversberg have the advantage of a longer rest, and have actually scored more goals than BVB this season, so it will likely be a very tough match.
Player to Watch: Lukas Petkov
Winger Lukas Petkov was the leading offensive driver in Elversberg’s promotion campaign last season, with 13 goals and 6 assists in 34 matches. This season he is only sitting on two goals and two assists, but this includes a goal and an assist in Elversberg’s season debut against Leverkusen.
Predicted Lineup
The biggest news of the week is the injury that Serhou Guirassy suffered against Real Betis this week. According to Ruhr Nachrichten, he has a muscle strain and will be injured through the international break. This means that Dortmund will need another forward to step up. According to RN, Maxi Beier could move out of his wingback position. Fabio Silva, who has scored in consecutive games, would clearly be another alternative.
I’m loving the midfield trio of Joey Veerman, Jobe Bellingham, and Felix Nmecha. Bellingham has been blossoming in his role as an attacking midfielder, while Joey Veerman is at his best sitting deep in possession. I would like to see Gadou return to the squad after starting on the bench against Betis, presumably for rest.
Score Prediction
Dortmund’s games have not been particularly high-scoring, so I’m predicting a 1-0 win, with Fabio Silva scoring the winner.
