Yahoo Sports Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig
A mouthwatering fixture is upon us as Borussia Dortmund host RB Leipzig at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening as Nuri Sahin’s side look to rediscover some positive form and end Leipzig’s unbeaten start to the season.
Sahin’s position as manager is currently under pressure as Dortmund sit in seventh place in the league table and have lost their last three games in a row in all competitions.
A disappointing 1-0 loss in the DFB-Pokal against Wolfsburg on Tuesday added further pressure after losing their most recent league fixture 2-1 against Augsburg, leaving them already seven points behind top spot.
“It’s not about my personal situation. It’s about moving the club forward, getting back on the right track as quickly as possible and winning our games,” said Sahin.
Their opponents however, have had a very positive start to the season as they currently sit in second place with the same points as the league leaders, Bayern Munich. Only these two sides are yet to lose a game this season.
Marco Rose’s side also recently progressed to the third round of the DFB-Pokal after beating St Pauli 4-2, as well as winning their last Bundesliga fixture 3-1 against Freiburg.
Rose still has praise for Dortmund during their difficult spell this season.
“Despite the lack of results last week, Dortmund have a high level of individual quality with and against the ball. They have a clear idea and a lot of speed on both wings. In addition, Serhou Guirassy is an absolute top striker.”
Team News
Dortmund are currently struggling with a long list of absentees, including two suspensions which Almugera Kabar and Niklas Sule are currently serving.
Jan Couto, Giovanni Reyna and Julian Ryerson are likely to miss out through injury.
Felix Nmecha and Gregor Kobel both picked up knocks during the match against Wolfsburg and may miss out.
Julien Duranville and Karim Adeyemi will also be missing out.
Leipzig will be without Xaver Schlager who looks to be out until January 2025, as well as David Raum until the middle of December 2024.
Xavi Simons is also missing and underwent a minor operation in Munich recently due to a ligament injury in his ankle.
Nicolas Seiwald is also ruled out, while Forzan Assan Ouedraogo is likely to be out of action for the next few days.
GGFN | Matthew Gritton
