Preview: FC Tokyo vs Borussia Dortmund - prediction, team news, lineups

Borussia Dortmund's pre-season preparation for the coming Bundesliga campaign continues on Saturday, when they take on FC Tokyo at MUFG Stadium in Japan.

BVB's clash on the weekend will be their fourth of pre-season, while their opponents will be playing their second ahead of the start of the 2026-27 J1 League.

Match preview

FC Tokyo missed out on their first ever top-flight crown, finishing second with 37 points behind eventual champions Kashima Antlers, who ended the campaign with 45 points.

That season only lasted 18 matches as the division agreed to adopt the September to May format seen in European divisions, but that required a shorter season in order to facilitate the format change.

Aoaka ended 2026 as the division's joint second highest scorers (28) and as the second best defensive team by goals conceded (16), though they ended their campaign winless in three matches (two losses and one draw).

Head coach Rikizo Matsuhashi's side conceded six times in those three games, and their 2-1 friendly win against Nagoya Grampus on July 21 extended their streak without a clean sheet to four fixtures.

FC Tokyo found the back of the net just five times in their last five outings - including their friendly clash - and they failed to score on two occasions in that period.

Borussia Dortmund come into the weekend's clash having won one and lost two of their three pre-season fixtures, with their latest result a 1-0 defeat against Cerezo Osaka on Wednesday.

There is no doubt that BVB made genuine progress as a club in 2025-26, collecting 16 more points (73) than they did in 2024-25 (57), but they still ended the Bundesliga season 16 points behind champions Bayern Munich.

Black and Yellow have now failed to win any of the past 14 German top-flight titles, and boss Niko Kovac faces another challenging campaign.

Dortmund's improved performances last term were a result of their defensive resilience given they conceded the fewest goals of any Bundesliga side (34), while also keeping the most clean sheets (15).

Kovac will want the club to improve their offensive output considering their tally of 70 league goals was their fourth worst return since 2011-12.

FC Tokyo Club friendly form:

Borussia Dortmund friendly form:

Team News

Tokyo could use a four-man defence ahead of goalkeeper Hayate Tanaka, who will hope to be protected by the likes of Hayato Inamura and Alexander Scholz.

Tsubasa Terayama and Takahiro Ko are candidates to feature in the middle of the pitch, while Marcelo Ryan and Kein Sato may play up front.

Dortmund named a strong starting XI last time out, and if they continue in a similar manner, then the Jobe Bellingham and Carney Chukwuemeka could appear in midfield.

However, defenders Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck are still dealing with long-term injuries, and their continued absences makes the selection of Joane Gadou, Filippo Mane and Luca Reggiani more likely.

Striker Serhou Guirassy started against Cerezo Osaka, and he may be given another hour on the pitch before being taken off.

FC Tokyo possible starting lineup:

Tanaka; Muroya, Scholz, Inamura, Hashimoto; Nozawa, Terayama, Ko, Endo; Ryan, Sato

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Meyer; Gadou, Mane, Reggiani; Couto, Bellingham, Chukwuemeka, Kabar; Yamamoto, Inacio; Guirassy

We say: FC Tokyo 1-2 Borussia Dortmund

It is difficult to know exactly how Saturday's match will unfold given the unpredictable nature of pre-season.

Perhaps the increasing vulnerability of FC Tokyo will lead to a Borussia Dortmund victory, though BVB's struggles in recent friendlies suggests that any win could be by a narrow margin.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.