Bundesliga preview: Borussia Dortmund vs Hannover 96

League leaders Borussia Dortmund will be looking to build on their victory against RB Leipzig last week in their pursuit of Bundesliga glory. While Dortmund will once again be without several key defenders, captain Marco Reus is expected make a return to the starting 11.

After overcoming a difficult opponent at the Red Bull Arena last week, Borussia Dortmund have shown that they are capable of playing top-level football without many of their key players. With a makeshift defence, Favre’s side shut out an attack-minded Leipzig side, picking up valuable 3 points and kicking off the Ruckrunde in style.

Despite facing the second bottom team in the Bundesliga this weekend, Dortmund will know that they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas. Hannover were the first team to hold Dortmund back with a 0-0 draw back in August 2018. Die Roten are yet to pick up a victory away from home but against Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion, it should be highly unlikely.

Recent form

Borussia Dortmund

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The most recent hiccup in Dortmund’s red hot Bundesliga season came against Fortuna Dusseldorf in December. It was an eye-opening result which should keep the team on their toes for the rest of the season. Dortmund have not let that result hold them back by picking up back to back victories against top tier teams, Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig respectively. The return of Marco Reus will let him shine alongside Sancho once again adding the final spark to Dortmund’s electric attack.

Although there are no players in doubt for the game there are still a handful of injuries. The likes of Manuel Akaanji, Dan Axel Zagadou, and Omer Toprak will not take part in the game. New signing Leonardo Balerdi is on international duty with Argentinas U20s at the South American Championship. But the defence is still looking as strong as ever. Hakimi, Piszczek and Diallo will continue their red hot form along with Roman Burki who had a fantastic game against Leipzig. Julian Weigl has shown us his defensive talents with a star performance last weekend at the Red Bull Arena and will likely start at the back alongside Diallo

Hannover 96

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Hannover are winless in their last 6 games and are struggling to keep their heads above water. Sitting in the relegation zone with 11 defeats this season they are also stricken with injury problems. With a total of 7 players injured and 1 at the Asian cup, it would be difficult for them to play their regular game against an inform Borussia Dortmund side.

But they’ve held Borussia Dortmund to a draw once and they can do it again. Bobby Wood is most likely going to start alongside Jonathas up front, which could cause some problems at the back especially with Dortmund’s makeshift defence. But Hannover still have a mountain to climb should they want to come away with all three points. A viable tactic would be to park the bus which has frustrated Dortmund before especially when they squander golden opportunities which comes back to haunt them.

Last match

The last these two sides met was back in August where Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw. Hannover dominated possession for the majority of the game but Dortmund only had themselves to blame. Not creating any chances and squandering them when they arrived is what cost the Black and Yellows all 3 points. It was still very early on in the Lucien Favre era and the team has come a long way since. Hannover, on the other hand, have just won two games this entire season and will certainly be going into the fixture as the underdogs.

Final Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Hannover 96