Borussia Dortmund continue their push for the Bundesliga title when they play hosts to 1.FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. The Black and Yellows are coming on the back of an important win over RB Leipzig that helped them reduce the gap to league leaders FC Bayern to just four points. A win in this game, therefore, could help them sustain the pressure on the Bavarians as well as the likes of RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.
Predicted Borussia Dortmund Lineup Vs FSV Mainz
Defence
Edin Terzic should make no alteration following an exceptional defensive performance against RB Leipzig last weekend. The central defensive pairing of Manuel Akanji and Mats Hummels, in particular, have simply been in top-form and it remains unlikely Dan-Axel Zagadou will start ahead of any of the two this weekend.
Thomas Meunier and Raphael Guerreiro should occupy the fullback positions as well as they look to continue their good form against Mainz. There shouldn’t be any changes in goal either with Roman Burki hoping for a clean sheet after conceding a late goal in the last match.
Midfield
Borussia Dortmund were dealt with a fresh injury last weekend when Axel Witsel picked up a knock against RB Leipzig. The midfielder should be out for a lengthy period of time, thus almost guaranteeing a place for Emre Can in the starting eleven.
The German international had featured as a substitute in the last game and made quite a difference. Hence, he should get the nod ahead of Mahmoud Dahoud and operate alongside Thomas Delaney in the double-pivot of BVB’s traditional 4-2-3-1 formation.
Jude Bellingham is another option Terzic could use should he prefer ball-progression and technicality in the half-spaces. The youngster hasn’t featured in a long time and could use some minutes, especially against the struggling Mainz.
Attack
Terzic is unlikely to tinker with the attacking unit that managed to score two goals against the meanest Bundesliga defence last weekend. As such, we expect Erling Haaland to once again spearhead the BVB offence, with additional support from the creative trifecta of Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Giovanni Reyna.
Reyna, in particular, though, hasn’t quite been able to perform on the same level in recent weeks. So he definitely needs to push up a gear if he wants to remain ahead of Julian Brandt in the pecking order.
