Borussia Dortmund will start their new season on Saturday afternoon, as they travel to Talwiese-Rielasingen to face 1. FC Rislasingen-Arlen, a small club playing in the depths of the German footballing divisions, VL Sudbaden – apparently the sixth tier of German football.
Nonetheless, it will be the very first glimpse of Dortmund, this season, excluding their Supercup defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. Here’s the predicted BVB lineup to face the lower division team in FC Rielasingen.
Goalkeeper: Roman Weidenfeller might get a chance to start against Rielasingen. The 37-year-old has been around Dortmund for years now, even though his general qualities as a goalkeeper has deteriorated a lot. Third choice keeper Dominik Reimann could also start in goal for Dortmund on Saturday.
Right Back: It’s probably Felix Passlack, who’ll get an outing against the sixth tier opposition. The youngster has been very topsy-turvy in his progress so far, therefore, a good performance on Saturday could help him gain some confidence.
Center Back(R): We might see new signing Dan-Axel Zagadou making his first appearance as a centre back. The young Frenchman was forced to play in an unusual left back position in the wake of Marcel Schmelzer’s injury. Zagadou’s height and physical prowess will be intimidating for the opposition.
Center Back(L): Another new signing Omer Toprak could partner Zagadou in the defensive backline for BVB. The Turkish International has looked very shaky in early pre-season friendlies. A good performance might help him gain more belief.
Left Back: The injuries keep decimating the overall squad it seems. Marcel Schmelzer and Raphael Guerreiro and Erik Durm are all out injured, meaning Lukasz Piszczek might feature as the left back for Dortmund against Rielasingen.
Central Defensive Midfield: New coach Peter Bosz has shown a lot of faith in Nuri Sahin, and the Turkish midfielder is expected to retain his spot in the team, despite a rather average performance against Bayern Munich. He will be aiming to provide more composure in the middle, linking up with the likes of Dahoud and Co.
Central Midfield(R): Gonzalo Castro will most probably start alongside Nuri Sahin in midfield. The former Leverkusen midfielder was pretty bad against Bayern. He desperately needs a good performance if he wants to keep his place in the starting lineup.
Central Midfield(L): This will be a perfect opportunity for newcomer Mahmoud Dahoud to showcase his brilliance. The 21-year old super-talent from Gladbach hasn’t really kicked off yet with his new teammates, but a solid performance could catapult his confidence.
Right Wing: Ousmane Dembele has been suspended from training until the weekend, due to his remoteness in yesterday’s training. Therefore, the 20-year old won’t be available to play against Rielasingen. Maximilian Philipp could make an appearance for the Black and Yellows.
Left Wing: Andre Schurrle is expected to start as the left winger. The German International has been quite bad and will be looking for an upturn in fortunes.
Striker: Alexander Isak netted four goals against third division Rot Weiss Erfurt a few days ago, and therefore, makes a strong case to start ahead of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who’ll probably get a rest as the Bundesliga kicks off next week.
