After navigating the Summer Transfer Window, only one thing remains on Borussia Dortmund’s schedule; football! The team started the season with three points against Hamburg and advancing in the cup against HEBC. Now they face their first big test; Hoffeinheim. The Sinsheimers were one of the Bundesliga’s better teams last season after finishing just a point shy of Champions League qualifications. Coach, Christian Ilzer, took over the club as they faced relegation during the 24/25 season, navigated
them to safety and then doubled their points tally last season. The summer was busy, however, with winger Bazoumana Toure leaving the club and Fisnik Asllani’s transfer to RB Leipzig failing the medical. To replace the dynamic Toure, Hoffenheim signed Wolfsburg’s Patrick Wimmer. They also brought in two talented young players with the best names in the Bundesliga; Mats Rots and Nathan De Cat. De Cat is a dynamic two-way player and is expected join Wouter Burger (seriously?) in midfield. Only Wimmer featured in Hoffenheim’s opening 2-3 defeat to Köln but we should expect the starting XI to change for this match. Asllani is still injured.
For Dortmund, this match poses lots of questions. First is the question of who will play. Konstantelias’s ACL injury and Samuele Inacio’s suspension means Niko Kovac has to pick a new player to play alongside Karetsas and behind Serhou Guirassy. Sabitzer, Chukwuemeka, and newly-signed Ethan Nwaneri could all feature but my guess is that Sabitzer will play. Second is the question of how they will play. Against both Hamburg sides, Dortmund enjoyed more of the ball and out-shot their opponents 35-9 (with 20 of Dortmund’s shots coming in the Bundesliga opener!). Hoffenheim want the ball, however. The hosts were 4th in possession last season (Dortmund were 6th) and had the lion’s share of the ball against Köln (59%). Kovac’s side will be facing their toughest test of the season thus far and need to find a way to either win the midfield battle or turn limited possession into goals.
Player to Watch: Andrej Kramaric
Picking a 35-year-old super-sub as the ‘Player to Watch’ is a bit peculiar but there’s good reason for that. Andrej Kramaric loves to score against Dortmund. In Borussia Dortmund’s history, only five players have scored more goals against die Schwarzgelben. Four of those players feature on the Bundesliga’s top ten all-time goalscorers and the other one is 15th. In 18 matches against Dortmund, Kramaric has scored 11 goals including 2 in this same fixture last season. Expect to see the Croatian striker come off the bench with a point to prove.
Expected Lineup:
After trying out the 4-3-3 against HEBC on Tuesday, I expect Kovac to go back to a 3-4-2-1 with Sabitzer stepping in for the injured Konstantelias. Kobel will return to goal after Meyer’s appearance in the cup. Gadou, Anton, and Ryerson will feature along the backline with Svensson and Beier ascting as wing-backs. Nmecha and Bellingham will continue to be the go-to pair in midfield with Sabitzer and Karetsas in front of them. Guirassy should start back up top after his goal last week.
Your Thoughts
How do you think the game will go? I’m expecting a narrow 2-1 win!
