Dortmund Match Preview: BVB look to bounce back and take 3 points from Mainz

We take on Mainz today at home in our 6th to last game of the season. After last weeks embarrassing loss to Bayern Munich, Dortmund need a good win to bring spirits back. BVB are still only 1 point behind Bayern so the title is still in play. Piszczek has been ruled out and Pulisic is doubtful. In our last outing vs Mainz we won 2-1, with goals from Paco and Piz.

For our lineup we need to play it safe. Weigl needs to slot back into the backline, hopefully along Akanji. At the moment they are our best pair. Diallo and Zags both have been struggling, but we will probably need to play on of them at fullback, preferably Diallo. Wolf can slot if fine as the other fullback. If we go two men in the central midfield Witsel-Delaney is our best bet. Mo still has the potential to be a great player but with the title so close and so few games left, Delaney needs to start over him whenever applicable. If it is two CMs, Reus should play in front of them with Paco in front of him. Dortmund could really use some Paco magic today. Raph and Sancho are our best bets on the wings.

Mainz have lost all but two games since January. If 05 sit back against us today they will be hard to break down, and they do have some quality in their counter. Despite a rough two months Florian Muller is the exact kind of keeper that can frustrate us if he plays at the top of his game. The biggest threat 05 has is Robin Quaison, who scored against us last time around. In addition to Quaison, Jean-Philippe Mateta has the most goals this year for Mainz, with 10. Expect both of them to start today looking for crosses and through balls from Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Jean-Paul Boëtius. Lots of Jean’s on this team.

Dortmund keys to victory are simple. 1. Dont play a bad first 10 minutes like they have been doing most of the year. 2. Play through Axel Witsel and Marco Reus. Reus especially has not been given the chance to successes by both Favre’s lineups and his teammates form the past few games.

Lets go BVB!!!