Dortmund Match Preview: Dortmund look to right the ship against Nuremberg

Its been a rough month for BVB. After blowing a 3 goal lead to Hoffeneheim and getting trounced by Spurs in the UCl last week, Dortmund need to get things back in order. It doesn't help that injures are pilling up. Reus and Piz are still hurt and now Pulisic has picked up a knock. Last time we played Nuremberg we beat them 7-0. Lets hope for a similar result!

For our lineup, hopefully we’ve had enough rest that most who played against Spurs and TSG are all good to go again. With Weigl back it he obviously should be starting at CB. His partner will probably be Diallo, despite Diallo having a really bad week. I think Toprak might be better with Weigl this time around, just to give Diallo a break. If not hopefully Abdou playing against Nuremberg helps him get his mojo back. For fullbacks, even though Hakimi scored vs Nuremberg last time, I think he should sit this game out. The amount of stupid mistakes he has made in the past few games warrants him a rest on the bench. If Schmelzer is fit, him and Zags should be the starting fullbacks. In the center of the field, no surprises, should be Deleney-Witsel with either Gotze or Phillip starting ahead of them. Both Gotze and Phillip haven’t looked great recently but with no Reus one of them has to fill that void. On the wings, Sancho should be paired with Raph or JBL. JBL played great against Nuremberg the last time around, but Raph is the better player. Up front we will need to start Paco if he is fit. If he isn’t fit then we will probably get both Gotze and Phillip starting. Paco has been absent, both on and off the field, so far this Ruckrunde. He needs to get back to his scoring ways, and a weak FCN side may help him get there.

Nuremberg haven’t won a Bundesliga game since September and have lost all but one game in the Ruckrunde. If we don’t annihilate this squad that will be another worrying sign for BVB. The team as a whole have only scored 17 goals this year. They play a counter attacking game and sit back against every team in the league, usually in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1. They are going to look for opportunity off set pieces, something Dortmund has been miserable dealing with this month. If we can prevent set pieces, and avoid making dumb mistakes on the counter or in our own third this game should be easy times for BVB. But after the last few games, easy times don’t seem to be meant for Dortmund.

What do you think our best lineup/game plan is?