Borussia Dortmund vs TSG Hoffenheim 09/02/19

09 February 2019

Rocked by a shock DFB Pokal elimination to Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund welcome an out-of-form TSG Hoffenheim side to the Signal Iduna Park looking to bounce back immediately.

The hosts come into this encounter following two successive failures (D1, L1) and this could be a turning point in their Bundesliga title race. The BL toppers have a seven-point lead over Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayern Munich and considering both sides face difficult tasks this weekend, a potential win here could be decisive in Dortmund’s efforts to end Bayern’s domination in Germany. The Black and Yellows boast an almost perfect home record (W9, D1) having bagged 34 goals in the process, which is by far the best goalscoring record in the German top flight. Furthermore, Lucien Favre’s men have scored over 1.5 goals per match in all BL home clashes this campaign, which is something only BVB and Borussia Monchengladbach managed to perform. The only thing that concerns Favre is that his players failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their last seven BL home outings.

Six draws and just one triumph in their last nine Bundesliga clashes (W1, D6, L2) have seen Die Kraichgauer tumbling down to eighth place. Unbeaten on seven consecutive BL road trips (W4, D3), Hoffenheim (22) come into the meeting as the second-best offensive team in the German top flight when it comes to the road races. Currently sitting eight-points adrift of the Champions League promotion zone, the visitors have been dealing with immense defensive problems in the past three months. Hoffenheim’s inability to keep a clean sheet has seen them concede in 10 of last 11 BL outings, allowing over 1.5 goals per match four times though. However, in the same sequence, Julian Nagelsmann’s players have scored in all meetings but one, notching over 1.5 goals per game on five occasions in the process.

Provisional line-up – Borussia Dortmund:

Gk: Burki Defense: Raphael Guerreiro – Piszczek – Diallo – Hakimi Midfield: Weigl – Dahoud – Witsel Attack: Reus – Sancho – Paco Alcacer

Provisional line-up – TSG Hoffenheim:

Gk: Baumann Defense: Niko Schulz – Poch – Vogt – Brenet Midfield: Geiger – Demirbay – Grillitsch – Amiri Attack: Joelinton – Kramaric