The Bundesliga is back after the international break and Borussia Dortmund are back at the Westfalenstadion after four games on the road. The team’s homecoming won’t be easy, however, with a strong VfB Stuttgart team coming to town. The Swabians have become a formidable force in Germany soccer and have become a bogey team for Dortmund. The last time Die Schwarzgelben earned all three points against Stuttgart was 761 days ago. Since then, Stuttgart have won five games, drew one, and outscored Dortmund 15
to 6. Both teams are tied on 21 points and Stuttgart has only one loss in their last seven Bundesliga matches.
The good news for Niko Kovac is that Dortmund enter the match with a near clean bill of health. The only scratch is fifth choice center-back, Niklas Sule. The international break also provided some much needed rest for Serhou Guirassy, who has only scored one goal in his last seven games. It won’t be an easy match but Dortmund need all three points if they want to stay in the hunt for the Bundesliga.
Player to Watch: Angelo Stiller
Midfielder, Angelo Stiller, is not the name you’d expect to stand out on in a lineup with Denis Undav, Tiago Tomas, or Bilal El Khannouss but the 24-year-old is cementing himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best midfielders. In 777 Bundesliga minutes this season, Stiller has four goal contributions and is dominating creative and progression statistics. Dortmund have struggled this season when they have lost the midfield battle. If the team wants to win tomorrow, Stiller has to be kept quiet.
Expected Lineup 3-4-2-1
As mentioned above, Dortmund are coming into this match with a clean bill of health and Kovac will have all tools at his disposal. In defense, we can expect Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can, and Waldemar Anton in front of Gregor Kobel. Daniel Svensson will continue to play every second of every match while we should expect Julian Ryerson on the right. Midfield is always a question mark but I expect Kovac to default back to Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha. Karim Adeyemi’s recent legal trouble leads me to think Julian Brandt and Maximilian Beier will start over him. Serhou Guirassy will start up top.
I would love to see Carney Chukwuemeka and Yan Couto in this match but, unfortunately, I don’t expect either to start.
Your Thoughts
What do you expect tomorrow? Who should start?
