Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig

Red Bull Arena forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering Bundesliga showdown between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

It’s been one bad beat after another for new Borussia Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin. After his side dropped an early lead in a frustrating 2-1 league loss at Augsburg last weekend, Wolfsburg crashed ‘Die Borussen’ out of the DFB-Pokal on penalties, extending their losing run in all competitions to three matches. Dortmund’s see-saw form has seen their last five Bundesliga outings fluctuate between defeats (3) and victories (2), hence a sub-par eighth place in the standings. It’s been their worst top-flight start since 2014/15, underlining the amount of pressure on Sahin ahead of this must-win fixture. However, the hosts have lost their last three meetings with Leipzig in all competitions, conceding at least two goals on each occasion, highlighting the magnitude of the task awaiting them this weekend.

In the meantime, Leipzig trounced St. Pauli 4-2 in midweek DFB-Pokal action to bolster their spirits ahead of this trip, looking to keep up with joint-leaders Bayern Munich. A 3-1 home win against Freiburg last weekend upheld Leipzig’s unbeaten Bundesliga start (W6, D2), making them one of only two teams in Germany’s top flight to achieve this feat. Manager Marco Rose returns to familiar territory, looking to inflict more pain on Dortmund, who sacked him two years ago. There’s plenty of reason for optimism as his men carry a formidable ten-game unbeaten away league streak into this contest (W7, D3). They’ve also been fun to watch, with their last seven Bundesliga travels featuring an average of 4.86 goals per game.