Following an incredible week full of success, Borussia Dortmund plan to extend their impressive start to the season as they host Borussia Monchengladbach in the first Borussia Derby of the season. The Black and Yellows are the only side in the Europe’s top five leagues yet to concede a single league goal this season and when they held Hamburg SV scoreless in midweek, Peter Bosz became the first manager in Bundesliga history to start the campaign with five consecutive clean sheets.
As we gear up for another enthralling encounter this weekend, let’s take a look at the probable Borussia Dortmund line-up to host Gladbach.
Goalkeeper: Roman Burki was the man to hold the honourable record of five consecutive clean sheets this season when he successfully preserved his clean sheet against Hamburger. He will be looking to further improve his tally with another shutout this weekend, as gross as it seems.
Right Back: Lukasz Piszczek has been an ever-present figure in the Dortmund backline this season. The veteran Polish defender has been solid and truly the Mr. Reliable in the backline.
Center Back(R): Sokratis Papastathopoulos will lead his side against Gladbach this weekend. The Greek International has been very impressive this season.
Center Back(L): Omer Toprak will partner alongside Sokratis in the defensive pairing of Dortmund. Toprak was by far the best defender in the midweek fixture against HSV. He will look to continue his good form against Gladbach.
Left Back: It will be a tough decision to choose between Jeremy Toljan and Dan-Axel Zagadou. Zagadou has been very good in the first few games, but Toljan too is a promising youngster, who can potentially perform better than his French teammate.
Central Defensive Midfielder: Julian Weigl might make his much-anticipated start, straight after his return from injury last week. The 21-year-old will take charge of the midfield, from the hands of Sahin, who has been brilliant, to say the least.
Central Midfielder(R): Nuri Sahin could actually start alongside Weigl in what would be a terrific combination to watch. Sahin has been in one of the best players in the Bundesliga this season and his partnership with Weigl could be something way too sensational for our small hearts to take.
Central Midfielder(L): To make things even better, Mahmoud Dahoud is expected to start the game against his former club this weekend. But more importantly, there’s a chance that he might partner alongside Weigl and Sahin in the middle of the park.
Right Wing: Andriy Yarmolenko will be given his third start in the span of one week. The Ukrainian caught the eye in both of his previous matches, and only a fool would bet against him, following the trend against Gladbach.
Left Wing: Maximilian Philipp might return to the starting lineup, after being benched in midweek. Though, he did feature as a sub later on in the second half. Philipp’s finishing has caught the eye of the Dortmunders, including Marco Reus in the early parts of the season.
Striker: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will lead the Dortmund line. The Gabonese International needs to score a few goals in order to keep pace with Robert Lewandowski, who sits atop the scoring charts with six goals in five matches.
This is how they might line up:
