Borussia Dortmund are off to a strong start in the Bundesliga with four wins and a draw, but all that success has come against opposition that was middling at best. Now it’s time to kick things up a notch.
Dortmund face their first top-four opponent of the season tomorrow at home against RB Leipzig, in what will be the club’s biggest domestic challenge thus far.
Leipzig started off their season with a whimper, getting absolutely steamrolled by Bayern 6-0 on opening day. Ever since then, however, Leipzig have been spotless against much lesser competition, going 4-0 against Heidenheim, Mainz, Cologne, and Wolfsburg, pushing them all the way up to third place. This means tomorrow’s match will be a major test for them too: we’ll find out if Leipzig are truly back, or if their record is just inflated by weak competition.
Player to Watch: Johan Bakayoko
Like many other Bundesliga clubs, RB Leipzig were really stripped for parts during the transfer window. Benjamin Sesko went to Manchester United, Xavi Simons left for Tottenham, and Lois Openda is now on loan at Juventus with an option to buy. In response, Leipzig signed eight new players. Among them is a player that BVB were at one point interested in: Johan Bakayoko.
RB Leipzig’s debutant and Rookie of the Month, Bakayoko has two goals in five games so far, including the match winner in last week’s game against Wolfsburg.
Predicted Lineup
Per Ruhr Nachrichten, Aaron Anselmino and Emre Can are still injured. During Can’s absence, two players appear to have gained Kovac’s trust: Felix Nmecha and Marcel Sabitzer. The former started on the bench at Bilbao, so I expect him to start for Dortmund tomorrow. The same is true of Nico Schlotterbeck.
On offense, Guirassy and Adeyemi are undroppable right now, while I would like to see Brandt in the squad for Maximilian Beier, who has been inconsistent. While I think he’ll start on the bench, I wouldn’t mind Fabio Silva getting more than the scant few minutes he’s been getting so far. He’s looked bright in the few flashes we’ve seen of him on the pitch, so I’m curious to see how he’ll perform with more time.
Score Prediction
I’m a little unsure of what to think about this. RB Leipzig have rebounded well since their opening week thrashing, but like Dortmund they haven’t played strong competition and their underlying expected goal numbers suggest a leaky defense. I think BVB will win 3-2.
