Borussia Dortmund will aim to record a fifth-straight victory when they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
Since losing the Der Klassiker to Bayern Munich, Dortmund have registered wins over 1. FC Köln, Augsburg, Hamburg and Stuttgart. Added-time goals from Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt drowned Die Schwaben in their previous Bundesliga outing, as Niko Kovač’s men stayed safe in second place by 11 points.
Adeyemi is set to miss out on this clash as he received his fifth booking of the season in his last match. Emre Can will be on the sidelines nursing a knee injury. Felix Nmecha was left out of the Stuttgart game due to a knee issue, and he is predicted to be out of this one as well. Filippo Mane faces a similar problem and will miss.
After settling for three consecutive league draws, amidst which they had to endure a Champions League exit to Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen rebounded with a 6-3 victory over relegation-threatened Wolfsburg in their last match. Alejandro Grimaldo, Patrik Schick, Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Malik Tillman netted to counter a potential Wolfsburg comeback and snatch the win.
Die Werkself currently sit sixth on the league standings with a ten-point lead over seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. Considering their position, they have virtually qualified for the Conference League next season; however, Kasper Hjulmand’s men are gunning for a top-four finish, being just four points behind Stuttgart.
Jarell Quansah completed individual training sessions ahead of the match after sustaining a thigh injury that made him miss last weekend’s clash. Leverkusen remain optimistic about starting him. Martin Terrier is sidelined due to a hamstring knock.
Predicted line-ups for the match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel – Anton, N. Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini – Ryerson, Bellingham, Svensson – Sabitzer, Brandt – Guirassy, Beier.
Bayer Leverkusen: Flekken – Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba, Grimaldo – Aleix García, Palacios – Culbreath, Tella, Maza – Kofane.
GGFN | Trambak Bhattacherjee
