Borussia Dortmund restart their Bundesliga campaign by welcoming Augsburg to the Westfalenstadion on Sunday.
Dortmund will be hoping to revitalise their domestic campaign after a very disappointing run of results in November.
Match preview
© Reuters
A woeful end to their 2022 has potentially dashed Dortmund's title hopes already.
Being nine points behind Bayern Munich with the midway point of the campaign approaching is almost unassailable if recent seasons are anything to go by.
They may be down in sixth, but the top four is still well within reach though, and Edin Terzic's side could move into third if other results go their way this weekend.
Augsburg are usually good opponents for Dortmund to face as well, considering they have beaten them in their last four meetings here at the Westfalenstadion.
While the title is slipping away though, the story of their striker Sebastian Haller could be the most heart-warming in Europe this season.
After being diagnosed with testicular cancer just days after signing with the club, he has recovered over the last few months and scored a hat-trick in their final friendly with Basel last week as he made a heroic return to the field.
The attack is undoubtedly the strength of Dortmund, and Haller's attacking partner Youssoufa Moukoko is the top scoring under-18 in Europe's top 10 leagues so far this season.
The young starlet has been a revelation, as his 11 Bundesliga goals have been scored in just 1300 minutes of action.
Only two players have had a better minutes-per-goal ratio than that in Bundesliga history, one of which was the legendary Gerd Muller.
Augsburg manager Enrico Maassen was Dortmund's youth manager last year, so this will be a sentimental occasion for him, but they are currently going through the Bundesliga's longest winless streak.
A run of seven games without victory has seen them pick up just three points and slip closer to trouble.
© Reuters
They are only one point clear of the relegation zone as the Bundesliga returns, but amazingly, Augsburg have one of the best away records in the division, as only five other sides have a better points-per-game average on the road.
Therefore, it is unsurprising to see that they have the worst home record in the German top flight, and if they want to avoid relegation this season, that must be improved upon in 2023.
Scoring first also seems to be a burden on Maassen's side, as they are seemingly incapable of holding on to a lead.
They have lost the last two games where they scored the first goal and they also let a 3-0 lead slip to draw with RB Leipzig in October.
A five-game spell between October and November saw them take the lead in each fixture, but they lost four and drew the other.
Team News
© Reuters
Haller could make his competitive debut for Dortmund here after winning in his battle with cancer during the start of the season.
Right-back duo Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey Bauza are both injured, so new signing Julian Ryerson may have his versatility tested by filling in on the right.
Mahmoud Dahoud, Marco Reus and Marius Wolf have all recovered from injuries during the World Cup break and could feature.
Mats Hummels made his 400th Bundesliga appearance in their last game before the break and the defensive stalwart should start again.
Mergim Berisha will be suspended for Augsburg after he received his fifth booking of the season in their final game of 2022.
Julian Baumgartlinger and Mads Pedersen are both battling to recover from illness, while Niklas Dorsch, Tobias Strobl, Iago and Andre Hahn are all out with long-term injuries.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Bellingham, Can, Brandt; Reus, Haller, Moukoko
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Bauer, Uduokhai; Gruezo, Rexbecaj, Caliguiri; Pedersen, Demirovic, Vargas
We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Augsburg
Terzic will be eager for his side to hit the ground running after a disappointing end to last year, and a home fixture against a side near the bottom should be ideal.
Augsburg are good away from home and could cause Dortmund's often-ropey defence a few problems, but it may be too much of an ask.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
