As the new Bundesliga season gets underway this Friday, with champions Bayern taking on Leverkusen, last season’s Pokal winners Borussia Dortmund will host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday. The Black and Yellows will begin their new venture with coach Peter Bosz. It will no doubt be a nervy moment for the Dutchman, who has never had the experience of managing a Bundesliga team prior to his appointment with Borussia Dortmund. His team so far, played well against Rielasingen, beating the sixth tier opponents 4:0 in the first round of the DFB Cup. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, are seeking their former glory, having lost the route in the last few years. Andries Jonker will look to start on a bright note with a win against Dortmund. Here is the predicted 4-3-3 lineup from Peter Bosz’s men to face against the Wolves.
Goalkeeper: Roman Burki has successfully claimed the number one spot from the hands of Roman Weidenfeller. This year, he will be vital for BVB in between the sticks, and the expectations will be higher than ever, especially after his impressive campaign last season.
Right Back: Lukasz Piszczek needs to perform to his best if he wants to cement his place in the starting lineup. Reports of Jeremy Toljan coming to Dortmund will be somewhat of a blow for Piszczek but a good performance against Wolfsburg should help things for the Poland International.
Center Back(R): It’s needless to say that Sokratis is now the undisputed best defender of Borussia Dortmund. His presence will be a key factor in keeping the Wolves at bay. The Greek generally performs well against Wolfsburg, and this match should be no different.
Center Back(L): New signing Omer Toprak’s lacklustre pre-season will pave the way for Marc Bartra to partner Sokratis in central defence. The former Barcelona man has grown to be quite famous among the Dortmund fans and in no time, he could turn into one of the club’s iconic members.
Left Back: Peter Bosz is having a lot of problems with the injury crisis and the left-back spot is probably the most ill-fated culprit of injuries. Erik Durm, Raphael Guerreiro and captain Marcel Schmelzer are all out with injuries. Even though Schmelzer should be fit within a couple of days, he’s still expected to miss the clash against Wolfsburg. Youngster Jan-Niklas Beste, who performed wonderfully well in their cup game against Rielasingen might earn his first Bundesliga debut on Saturday.
Central Defensive Midfielder: Nuri Sahin will take charge of defensive midfield. Coach Peter Bosz has shown a lot of faith in the Turkish midfielder, starting him in all of the two previous games this season. He will look to provide more composure in the centre of the pitch.
Central Midfield(R): The coach has been trying to inculcate new signing Mahmoud Dahoud into the starting eleven for long, as he serves the team with greater importance. The ex-Gladbach player has had a topsy-turvy start to his career at Dortmund but a good showing against VfL could catapult his confidence.
Central Midfield(L): Gonzalo Castro has featured in both of the matches this season. He has been given a special role of diverging the backline with his clever movements, much like Thomas Muller aka die Ramdeuter. It will be interesting to see if he manages to live up to the new role he was given.
Right Wing: Borussia Dortmund confirmed this week, that Ousmane Dembele will remain suspended until further notice by the board. Meaning, Christian Pulisic will take up his place on the right flank.
Left Wing: Andre Schurrle is also said to be out injured, which might give new signing Maximilian Philipp a vital opportunity to prove his talent in front of his new boss. The former Freiburg attacker looked decent in the last game against Rielasingen.
Striker: There’s no guarantee over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s inclusion in the starting eleven as the Gabonese International is currently suffering from a cold. Although it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for Auba, therefore, he will start as the lone striker for Peter Bosz’s men. Fans will be hoping to see more goals from last season’s Golden Boot winner.
