The Bundesliga returns after a long lay off and in time period, we have seen Argentina being crowd as world champions and multiple other leagues kick-starting and entering a very interesting phase. The German league, as usual, operates at its own pace and in the southern part of the country, the Borussia Dortmund faithful have been desperately waiting to welcome their side once again on home turf and they will be finally there at the Signal Iduna Park when Dortmund square off against Augsburg.
The season has taken multiple interesting turns for Dortmund. They started on a positive note and took advantage of Bayern Munich’s little struggles at the beginning of the season under Julian Naglesmann. At multiple stages, it seemed like the long-running duck of Bayern Munich winning the league with ease might even come to an end, but as they have been doing a few times in the last decade, Edin Terzic’s side have let the balance slip, once again.
They finished 2022 on a somber note, giving Bayern Munich a nine point advantage at the top of the table. If recent seasons have been are to be brought into picture, it means that Bayern Munich are highly likely to add yet another title in their trophy cabinet whilst Dortmund fans’ wait might have to prolong for another season. Although it is far-fetched, there is a glimmer of hope still left for Dortmund if they can pick up form.
To create such a fairytale, you need some stories inspiring within the team and the return of Sebastian Haller, who was battling testicular cancer due to which he was ruled out for predominantly the entire season thus far, has boosted Dortmund’s hopes of making some inroads in the Bundesliga. They always have a strong core of players going forward, what they’ve only lacked is the strength to withstand.
In their most recent friendly fixture against Dusseldorf, Dortmund smashed five goals, which includes a brace for Donyell Malen in the dying minutes of normal time. Karim Adeyemi and Nico Schlotterbeck also were on the scoresheet for the Black and Yellows. However, what will be concerning for the side will be the fact that they lost their last two matches in the league.
Micky van de Han and Lukas Nmecha scored for Wolfsburg at home to hand Dortmund a 2-0 defeat on November 8 and four days later, Borussia Monchengladbach ripped them apart via goals from Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hoffman, Ramy Bensebainy and Kouadio Kone. Edin Terzic tasted success as a player and would want to inspire the troops to a successful stint as a head coach as well.
On the other side, Augsburg are on a disastrous run of results. Their unit is only one point clear of the relegation zone as the Bundesliga returns, but interestingly, Augsburg have one of the best away records in the division, as only five other sides have a better points-per-game average on the away trips. Hence, it is unsurprising to see that they have the worst home record in the German top flight, and if they want to avoid relegation this season, that must be improved upon in 2023.
Scoring first also seems to be a burden on Maassen’s side, as they are seemingly incapable of holding on to a lead. They have lost the last two games where they scored the first goal and they also let a 3-0 lead slip to draw with RB Leipzig in October. A five-game spell between October and November saw them take the lead in each fixture, but they lost four and drew the other.
DOR vs AUG, Bundesliga 2022/23
Date: January 22, 2023
Time: 10:00 PM IST
Venue: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
FORM GUIDE:
Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form:
L-W-W-W-L-L
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
D-W-L-L-W-W
Augsburg Bundesliga form:
L-D-L-L-D-L
Augsburg form (all competitions):
L-D-L-L-D-L
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Borussia Dortmund wins: 14
Draws: 4
Augsburg wins: 3
TEAM NEWS:
Borussia Dortmund team news:
Haller could make his competitive debut for Dortmund here after winning in his battle with cancer during the start of the season. The star forward who has been on the sidelines for a long period of time, scored a hat-trick on his return in the first friendly he featured in, announcing to the world that he still has it in him to rip defences apart despite facing such an adverse illness.
Right-back duo Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey Bauza are both injured, so new signing Julian Ryerson may have his versatility tested by filling in on the right. Dortmund has been home to multiple rising talents over the years and Ryerson is expected to be one such phenomenon at the club in the coming years.
Mahmoud Dahoud, Marco Reus and Marius Wolf have all recovered from injuries during the World Cup break and could feature. Mats Hummels made his 400th Bundesliga appearance in their last game before the break and the defensive stalwart should start again.
Augsburg team news:
Mergim Berisha will be suspended for Augsburg after he received his fifth booking of the season in their final game of 2022. Julian Baumgartlinger and Mads Pedersen are both battling to recover from illness, while Niklas Dorsch, Tobias Strobl, Iago and Andre Hahn are all out with long-term injuries.
The likes of Ruben Vargas and Daniel Caligiuiri were expected to produce a bulk of the attacking threat season and with the duo contributing just three goals in the league so far, Augsburg’s struggles intensified. Ermedin Demirovic has been their star up front so far with five goals and two assists, but he requires a lot more help to make a mark on the side.
Felix Uduokhai and Robert Gumny formed a potent fullback pair in a few games for the German club. Although their attacking output hasn’t been up to the mark, the side needs them to be resilient defensively against the attacking threat of Marco Reus, Moukoko and Haller.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Bellingham, Can, Brandt; Reus, Haller, Moukoko
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Bauer, Uduokhai; Gruezo, Rexbecaj, Caliguiri; Pedersen, Demirovic, Vargas
Predictions:
Augsburg have lost on all their four away trips to Dortmund lately, something that should inspire Terzic’s side to see through this fixture without much fuss. Only thing that will keep Terzic a little nervous is the fact that Augsburg always find a way to score against Dortmund and have scored in all of their last 17 matches. That is quite a staggering record although it is the eight-time champions who reign supreme predominantly.
Borussia Dortmund have already lost six games in the season so far and take the seventh position as it stands. Only in Jurgen Klopp’s last season in charge as Dortmund manager did they have more defeats at this point of the season (nine defeats, 2014-15 season) and those in yellow, who have been boosted with a couple of new additions, will be keen on taking the upward trajectory.
Typically, we see the dominant team take control of possession in games like this and despite Dortmund favouring the idea of having to attack in transitions, there might not be enough opportunities for them to do so as Augsburg might launch a stringent defence. In that scenario, the side will have to dig deep and ensure they find a space through the narrows slots.
Dortmund have the attacking firepower to overcome nearly any team in Europe and it remains the same even in the current day. It is all about execution on the day and how they perform today will go a long way in determining how their remainder of the season goes on. Our prediction is for Dortmund to win 2-0.
