Borussia Dortmund will look to overcome their awful form as they face a rather easy task of overcoming Magdeburg in the second round of the DFB Pokal on Wednesday. The Black and Yellows are on the back of a three-game winless streak going into this game, during which, they have also spoiled their five-point gap at the top of the table.
However, Die Schwarzgelben are still the league leaders in the Bundesliga and Peter Bosz’s men will look to take advantage of an easy schedule to bring back the lost confidence in the Dortmund camp. They are also the defending champions of the DFB Pokal this season, therefore, the expectations will be high when they lock horns with third division Magdeburg this midweek.
Here’s the predicted Dortmund lineup ahead of their clash this midweek.
Defense
Roman Burki is expected to stay in goal despite a series of underwhelming performances in recent matches. The Dortmund board has shown great support to their Swiss goalkeeper as well.
Things might get complicated in defence for BVB, as they are missing quite a lot of defensive players due to injury. Sokratis will return to the fold after missing out in weekend game against Eintracht due to suspension. The Greek International will partner Marc Bartra in central defence, while, Jeremy Toljan will occupy the right-back spot.
Elsewhere in defence, club captain Marcel Schmelzer will be fit to play against his former club. He will feature as the left back for Dortmund.
Midfield
Julian Weigl is expected to move back to his preferred midfield position. The youngster was deployed as a center back against Eintracht and it turned out to be an awful decision by Peter Bosz. The 21-year-old will likely play as the lone holding midfielder for the Black and Yellows.
Both Nuri Sahin and Gonzalo Castro are expected to make way for Shinji Kagawa and Mahmoud Dahoud. The latter hasn’t featured in the starting eleven for a few games and will be eager to impress. Both of them will play as the central midfielders.
Attack
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will lead the charge for Dortmund in the attacking department but the Gabonese International is expected to be taken off later on for youngster Alexander Isak. Christian Pulisic and Maximilian Philipp will be deployed at the wings. Both of them were very impressive in the game against Eintracht Frankfurt but lacked necessary support throughout the game.
This is how they might line up:
