LOOK AHEAD: Borussia Dortmund

It’s derby time, just a short ride on the A40 Autobahn and heading for our neighbouring city. We will be travelling to Dortmund – the second to last away fixture of the season. The first game ended in a 1-1 draw. Here’s the LOOK AHEAD on Borussia Dortmund and #BVBBOC.

THE TEAM

Things are not running that smoothly in our neighbouring city. And yet BVB are most probably about to secure the runners-up spot in the table, only the formidable opponents Bayern cannot be caught up with. But, many goals against, partly unnecessary losses of points as well as being kicked out of the DFB-Pokal, Champions League and finally Europa League at quite early stages have left some frustration. Moreover, the rumours of a transfer of top scorer Erling Haaland keep spreading. Names of potential successors are already doing the rounds. New German international Karim Adeyemi is said to be on top of the list. But, as of now, the current squad is to finish the campaign properly. Between BVB and the third place is an eight point gap, so that the runners-up slot should be a safe bet. Nothing more to achieve, which has become clear after last week’s defeat against Munich. One crucial point is the high number of goals against – 46, which is one more than VfL have conceded. Ranking only 10th in relation to the whole league. Up front Haaland has a remarkable strike rate: 18 goals in 21 appearances. Skipper Marco Reus (9 goals) and Julian Brandt (7) followed by new signing Donyell Malen (5). BVB head coach Marco Rose is forced to do without regular goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, the Swiss will be out of action.

THE HEAD COACH

After two years as a head coach of RB Salzburg Marco Rose moved on to Germany in summer 2019. Initially he had worked for two years at Borussia Mönchengladbach, before he joined BVB this season. In his first season in the Ruhr area he has managed to rack up 20 victories in the league. A decent gain, but eight defeats and the missed chance to win silverware are quite annoying. The former Mainz player actually knows Thomas Reis quite well. Both passed their football coaching course together and got along well with each other from the very beginning. In the first match they couldn’t meet at the touchlines as Rose was banned, while this time Thomas Reis will just return from his suspension.

THE RECORD

It’s only a 15 minute drive to the Signal Iduna Park. Both clubs are very familiar with each other. But it’s been a while since the last clash in Dortmund. Back in October 2009, when BVB scored a 2-0 home win. At that time VfL were playing with keeper Andreas Luthe and skipper Marcel Maltritz. Bochum’s last victory in Dortmund goes back to the year 1998, when Delron Buckley scored the winner shortly before the final whistle. Great memories, as well as this season’s first game. The lads showed a passionate fight and were up 1-0 after a converted penalty kick from Sebastian Polter until the closing minutes, before Julian Brandt managed to equalise – 1-1 final score. This weekend it’s Bundesliga fixture no. 62. BVB have won 24 clashes so far, VfL racked up 16 victories.