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Bundesliga Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs TSG Hoffenheim

By Oliver Campo

DORTMUND, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 5: (L-R) Alex Witsel of Borussia Dortmund, Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund, Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund, Jacob Bruun Larsen of Borussia Dortmund, Achraf Hakimi of Borussia Dortmund, Paco Alcacer of Borussia Dortmund, Omer Toprak of Borussia Dortmund during the German DFB Pokal match between Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen at the Signal Iduna Park on February 5, 2019 in Dortmund Germany (Photo by Jeroen Meuwsen/Soccrates/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 5: (L-R) Alex Witsel of Borussia Dortmund, Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund, Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund, Jacob Bruun Larsen of Borussia Dortmund, Achraf Hakimi of Borussia Dortmund, Paco Alcacer of Borussia Dortmund, Omer Toprak of Borussia Dortmund during the German DFB Pokal match between Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen at the Signal Iduna Park on February 5, 2019 in Dortmund Germany (Photo by Jeroen Meuwsen/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
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Borussia Dortmund crashed out of the DFB-Pokal earlier this week and they will now be looking to rebound against Hoffenheim at home on Saturday.  It won’t be easy as Lucien Favre tries to maintain The Black and Yellows’ lead in the Bundesliga.

Match information

Location: Signal Iduna Park

Date: 2/9/19

Time: 10:30 am CT/3:30 pm Local time

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Borussia Dortmund

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Borussia Dortmund’s defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal is a little difficult to swallow. Goalkeeper Eric Oelschlägel’s senior debut against his former club could have ended in a win, but it wasn’t to be. Now, Lucien Favre’s side will have to focus on the Champions League and more importantly the Bundesliga and hopefully bring the title home this year.

Hoffenheim

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Hoffenheim has seen better days. While the club isn’t struggling at the foot of the table, their form makes a win here hard to believe. Hoffenheim is traveling to Borussia Dortmund and needing a win to get into a better position for European competition. Julian Nagelsmann may bring an XI that is all attack to try and overrun The Black and Yellows’ defense.

Team News

Der BVB will be without Marco Reus against Hoffenheim, who suffered a muscle injury on Wednesday. Defenders Manuel Akanji and Leonardo Balerdi are also listed out with injury. While Thomas Delaney is suspended after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend. Jadon Sancho, Marcel Schmelzer, Marwin Hitz and Roman Burki (all sick) and Lukasz Piszczek are also doubts ahead of the game.

Kevin Vogt (thigh), Lukas Rupp (knee), Kasim Adams (thigh) and Robin Hack are unavailable for Hoffenheim.

Opposition Star Man: Andrej Kramaric

SINSHEIM, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 02: Andrej Kramaric of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim celebrates his team`s first goal during the Bundesliga match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Fortuna Duesseldorf at PreZero-Arena on February 2, 2019 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Bongarts/Getty Images)
SINSHEIM, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 02: Andrej Kramaric of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim celebrates his team`s first goal during the Bundesliga match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Fortuna Duesseldorf at PreZero-Arena on February 2, 2019 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

The Croatian striker is tied with Brazilian striker Joelinton as far as total goal contributions to the team are concerned. Kramaric is on fire though, he has scored 14 goals across all competitions. His consistency will be a primary issue for Dortmund as Kramaric has scored 3 goals in the last 2 games for Hoffenheim and will be a threat to Dortmund’s make-shift defense.

Last Match: Hoffenheim 1 – 1 Borussia Dortmund

Hoffenheim took the lead thanks to a strike by Joelinton in the 44th minute. That strike set the tone for the match as Borussia Dortmund had Dahoud on a yellow going into the second half. It only became more difficult as Diallo was shown a straight red card on 76 minutes. The call was controversial as it seemed Kramaric attempted his best impression of Neymar and it paid off for the home side. But with help from Schmelzer and Reus, Christian Pulisic was able to find the back of the net on a simple finish in the 84th minute to tie the game up 1-1 and make sure Borussia Dortmund’s unbeaten run went on.

Possible Lineups

Borussia Dortmund: Burki – Hakimi, Weigl, Toprak, Diallo – Witsel, Dahoud – Pulisic, Philipp, Guerreiro, Gotze

Hoffenheim: Baumann –  Bicakcic , Posch , B. Hübner – Kaderabek , Grillitsch , N. Schulz, Demirbay, Bittencourt – Kramaric, Joelinton

Final prediction – Borussia Dortmund 2 – 1 Hoffenheim

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