Borussia Dortmund vs Cologne

Title-bidding Borussia Dortmund will be looking to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga when they meet out-of-sorts Cologne at Signal Iduna Park.

A heartbreaking Champions League elimination at the hands of Chelsea proved too much to digest for Borussia Dortmund, who immediately slumped to a 2-2 draw at eternal rivals Schalke 04 last weekend, falling two points behind pacesetters Bayern Munich. That result also marked Dortmund’s first failed attempt to grab three points in a Bundesliga match in 2023 after they won their first eight league games of the new calendar year. However, ‘Die Borussen’ have racked up an impressive 25 of a possible 27 points from their last nine Bundesliga home outings (W6, D1), winning six straight league fixtures at Signal Iduna Park in the build-up to this clash. Yet, the continuation of that run hangs in the balance, considering Edin Terzic’s men have failed to beat Cologne in four of their last five top-flight H2Hs (D2, L2).

In the meantime, visiting Cologne come into proceedings in the midst of a rough patch as they’ve failed to score in a Bundesliga game for over a month, going winless in their last four league outings (D1, L3). To make things worse, the visitors have conceded multiple goals three times during that four-match sequence, casting doubt on their bid to defy a humiliating 22-game Bundesliga form at Dortmund (W1, D4, L17). Back to Cologne’s scoring woes, no side has drawn a blank on more occasions in the Bundesliga this season than the ‘Billy Goats’ (11). Adding to the visiting team’s frustrations, they’ve gone winless on their last nine league travels (D4, L5), failing to score six times in this run.