BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS. RB LEIPZIG
RB Leipzig take on Borussia Dortmund after an exceptional week. RBL initially beat VfL Wolfsburg 3-0, then drew in the Champions League with reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and last but not least picked up three points against Eintracht Frankfurt.
On Friday (20:30 CET), the first game of Bundesliga matchday 23 will take place under the flootlights at the Signal Iduna Park.
We take a look at our next opponents.
Opponent analysis: Borussia Dortmund
Form
The Black-Yellows are currently four points ahead of RBL in the table, with 46 points, the same amount as leaders and record champions Bayern Munich.
BVB have won all of their nine competitive games in 2023 – no other team in Europe’s top 10 leagues. They have won seven out of sevengames in the Bundesliga since the re-start in January. Borussia are on quite a run.
Last three games
- Bundesliga matchday 22: 1-0 against TSG Hoffenheim (goal: Brandt)
- Bundesliga matchday 21: 4-1 against Hertha BSC (goals: Adeyemi, Malen, Reus, Brandt / Tousart)
- Champions League round of 16: 1-0 against Chelsea (goal: Adeyemi)
- Bundesliga, 21. Spieltag: 4:1 gegen Hertha BSC (Tore: Adeyemi, Malen, Reus, Brandt / Tousart)
Team news
Key players
Gregor Kobel has been in top form over the last few weeks, with the Switzerland international proving his quality reactions against Hoffenheim (1-0), as well as Hertha (4-1) und Chelsea (1-0). In his current form the 25-year-old is also hard to beat with high balls or crosses.
Above all against his former club TSG, the ‘keeper was in brilliant form and made a number of saves to prevent an equaliser.
One of the best young players in the World
Jude Bellingham sets the tone in midfield for Borussia. The dynamicEnglishman is a leader at the Bundesliga’s second-placed side despite his young age. The 19-year-old controls the tempo and rhythm of BVB’s game.
Dortmund’s number 22 has already got 82 Bundesliga games under his belt and has appeared in 21 out of 22possible games this season. He has started 20 times, scoring 4 times, with a further 4 assist this Bundesliga season.
In form Brandt
Julian Brandt has had the greatest attacking impact for Borussia this season. The technically-gifted Germany international has scored 8 goals in the Bundesliga this season, making him BVB’s biggest goal threat. The 26-year-old has scored in his last four Bundesliga games and has a goal contribution in all of the first five games in the second half of the season.
Since records for goal contributions began in 1988/89, only Jadon Sancho (2019/20) and Erling Haaland (2020/21) have also achieved this feat. Brandt has twelve goal contributions overall, the most of any Borussia player.
Transfers
BVB only brought in a couple of players in the winter transfer window. Julien Duranville, a 16-year-old Belgian talent signed from RSC Anderlecht. They also bought a full-back from 1. FC Union Berlin in the shape of Julian Ryerson. The Norwegian has turned out to be a starter in the weeks since his transfer, making 5 Bundesliga appearances as well as 1 in the Champions League and 1 in the Pokal.
The best addition
The biggest new signing for the team arrived in the summer but is finally able to play for the team after recovering from testicular cancer. Sebastien Haller doesn’t just provide a new edge in attack thanks to his brilliant abilities with his back to goal and as a strong header of the ball, but also his successful battle against cancer after months of chemotherapy has given the team a new strength.
Unavailable players
- Karim Adeyemi (muscle strain)
- Youssoufa Moukoko (syndesmosis ligament partial tear)
- Julian Duranville (partial muscular tear)
- The latest RBL injury news can be found in our team news update.
Head coach
Edin Terzić was born in Menden, a stone’s throw from Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park and the now 40-year-old stood in the stands as a boy.
Experience in England and Turkey
Terzić has spent the majority of his coaching career at Borussia and has held a number of different roles within the club, including scout, U16 head coach U16, and assistant coach of the U17s, U19s and BVB II teams. He’s also had experience abroad, having worked as an assistant to Slaven Bilic at Besiktas (2013-2015) and West Ham (2015-2017).
The 40-year-old returned to Dortmund in 2018 as an assistant coach to Lucien Favre. When the Swiss coach was sacked in December 2020, Terzić was appointed interim head coach until the end of the campaign and led the team to the DFB-Pokal trophy in 2021 and a second-place finish in the Bundesliga.
Head-to-head
Borussia have won seven of the 14 meetings between the two sides, with Leipzig coming out on top five times and the other two games ending in a draw. Leipzig can balance the record with a win on Friday and another victory when the two sides meet in the DFB-Pokal quarter-final in April. RBL have won each of the last three games.
Rose’s dream debut
The last meeting between the two sides will be a good memory for all RBL fans. In September 2022, Marco Rose marked his first game in charge of RB Leipzig with a 3-0 win over the Black Yellows thanks to goals from Willi Orban, Dominik Szoboszlai and Doudou Haidara.
Last five meetings
- 10th September 2022 | Bundesliga matchday 6: RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Dortmund
- 2nd April 2022 | Bundesliga matchday 28: Borussia Dortmund 1-4 RB Leipzig
- 6th November 2021 | Bundesliga matchday 11: RB Leipzig 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
- 13th May 2021 | DFB-Pokal final: RB Leipzig 1-4 Borussia Dortmund
- 8th May 2021 | Bundesliga matchday 32: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 RB Leipzig