Arminia Bielefeld vs Borussia Dortmund
Relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld will play host to second-placed Borussia Dortmund at Schüco Arena, seeking their first Bundesliga H2H goal since May 2008.
Going into this matchday as one of only two Bundesliga sides yet to pick up a single victory this league campaign (D5, L3), Arminia Bielefeld’s hopes of staying in the top-flight are already up in the air. A lack of firepower up top has seen Bielefeld score a league-low four Bundesliga goals this season. Topically, ‘Die Arminen’ have netted just a single goal in four top-flight home outings this term, drawing a blank in the last two in a row. Their goal drought looks like to stretch over here, as they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet in each of their last four Bundesliga meetings with Dortmund (D1, L3). A solid-looking defense has been Bielefeld’s only bright spot this season, with their record of 11 goals conceded from their first eight Bundesliga matches remaining their lowest such tally since 2006/07.
In the meantime, Borussia Dortmund succumbed to an embarrassing 4-0 away defeat to Ajax in midweek Champions League action. It means that none of their 14 competitive matches under new manager Marco Rose have ended as a draw (W9, L5). Seeking their first Bundesliga clean sheet of the season, ‘Die Borussen’ will be desperate to tighten up at the back after conceding a league third-high 14 top-flight goals to date. Despite trailing top-placed Bayern Munich by a single point going into this round, the visitors have failed to impress away from home, losing two of their three Bundesliga travels this term (W1). Additionally, only five (22.73%) of Dortmund’s 22 top-flight goals scored this season have come away from home, with Rose’s side netting just a single first-half goal across their first three Bundesliga trips so far.