Match Preview: Dortmund look to wrangle the Red Bulls

The Red Bulls are traveling to Dortmund this weekend as they try to stay in the title race. Dortmund prepare to make sure that doesn’t happen. After an embarrassing wake up call last fall where Leipzig beat us 1-0, it’s time to get some payback. It won’t be an easy task as Leipzig is one of the most talented teams in the league and has done better then us so far this season. In a season where we seem to struggle against mid-table teams, we are going to need all hands on deck to take on the 2nd team on the table. Piszczek is questionable to play with muscle problems. Isak is also questionable as Tuchel isn’t sure he is ready to play within the team yet.

After a bad tie to Mainz last week BVB have a lot to prove. This Redbull team played impeccable defense against BVB last time around so it will be up to the whole team to keep things fluid. Our predicted XI is probably our best XI for this situation.

Raph in the holding midfield spot will be a huge role for him but this is probably where he can play best. Against Mainz he looked out of place playing so far up. Also with him in holding midfield it will allow him to have free kick responsibility throughout the whole pitch. He is clearly our best free kick taker so that’s a big plus for us if it happens. Note that the predicted XI has Piz in the line-up but that probably won’t happen. Hopefully his replacement is Felix Passlack who has been so good for BVB in his limited appearances. Passlack is a physical player who will be able to shut down Leipzig’s wingers better then almost anyone on the team. Having Schurrle, Gotze, Reus and Auba up top seems to be a good move as well. Leipzig is a young team and those four are all veteran players who are used to playing big games.

The Red Bulls are coming to Dortmund a little undermanned. Timo Werner is not available for Leipzig due to illness. However Naby Keita is still on the field, so we have plenty to worry about. Keita has been one of the best players in the league this year and has been crucial to Leipzig’s success. Leipzig are going to look to press BVB out of this game just like they did last time. It will be crucial that Weigl can handle the pressure from Leipzig’s midfielders if we are to stay in this match. The key to beating Leipzig will be to pressure them right out the the game early. This is how Bayern destroyed them in December and it seems to be a good way to stop RB.

What are your predictions for the match?