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This Sunday, Borussia Dortmund will host last place FC Köln for match day 4 of the Bundesliga.
Many are expecting Dortmund to come out with a win in this match, despite their recent record. Der BVB ended their last Bundesliga match in a scoreless draw against SC Freiburg. Streich and his men implemented dirty tactics combined with a parked bus to throw Bosz’s men into disarray. FC Köln was also soundly beaten 3-0 by Augsburg.
Both teams are also coming off losses in European competition. On Wednesday, Dortmund were abysmal in a 3-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. Likewise, Köln lost to Arsenal by the same scoreline.
Possible Lineups
Bosz switched up the midfield against Tottenham, so I imagine he’ll revert back to the lineup he’s been using in the Bundesliga. Jeremy Toljan is also a player he’s likely to keep in the left-back position after his performance against Tottenham.
Predicted Lineup: Bürki, Toljan, Toprak, Sokratis, Piszczek, Şahin, Götze, Dahoud, Philipp, Aubameyang, Yarmolenko
I expect Götze to be back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench against Tottenham. Christian Pulisic has been putting in a lot of minutes and not really performing, so I would like to think Bosz gives the starting spot to Philipp. Philipp is in the same camp as Pulisic, and with practice, he could be Marco Reus 2.0.
FC Köln will field their strongest lineup possible, as they are desperate for points in Bundesliga. The biggest problem following their squad is the lack of a star striker. Their lineup will probably not be too different than the one they put out against Arsenal.
Predicted Lineup: Horn, Rausch, Heintz, Sorensen, Klünter, Lehmann, Bittencourt, Hector, Jojic, Zoller, Cordoba
Peter Stöger won’t alter his Europa League starting eleven too much. I think he’ll only make one change in both midfield and defense.
Borussia Dortmund has the stronger lineup by far, but it’s plain to see the players haven’t had much time to play as a unit. The squad’s performance right now is unpredictable.
FC Köln will fight for every ball that comes their way, as they desperately need a win if they don’t want to go into the winter break in the bottom half of the table.
Scoreline Prediction: 1-0
Bosz rallies his men, and Dortmund come out with a narrow victory. The squad has been struggling to score lately and I think this match will be the same against a gritty side that wants to win badly.