Heidenheim vs Borussia Dortmund
In-form Borussia Dortmund take a potentially tricky trip to the Voith-Arena to encounter mid-table Heidenheim.
Despite dropping out of the top half of the table on the back of three consecutive Bundesliga stalemates, including a 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim last time out, Heidenheim’s main target remains firmly on course. Indeed, 11 points clear of the drop zone, the top-flight debutants are close to securing their place at the elite table for another season, largely thanks to their impressive home form. Frank Schmidt’s men have only lost twice in their nine home league outings this season (W5, D2), going unbeaten in their last five in a row (W3, D2). With two of those three victories coming against Dortmund’s European rivals Freiburg and Stuttgart, it’s nearly impossible to write Heidenheim off before the kick-off. Substantiating this opinion is the fact they held Dortmund to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at Signal Iduna Park.
In the meantime, high-flying Borussia Dortmund have got 2024 off to a dream start, winning all three Bundesliga matches by an aggregate score of 10-1, including a 3-1 home thumping of Bochum last weekend. Buoyed by Jadon Sancho’s return on loan, Edin Terzic’s charges have netted 3+ goals in all three top-flight assignments in the new calendar year en route to leapfrogging RB Leipzig into fourth. Not just that, ‘Die Borussen’ have built a three-point lead on the Red Bull outfit and are now keen to maintain their form resurgence on hostile turf. After four consecutive Bundesliga travels without winning (D3, L1), they’ve won their last two away league games by 3+ goals ‘to nil,’ strengthening their outstanding record on the road this season (W4, D4, L1).