Borussia Dortmund vs FC Koln: Expected Starting Lineup

AUGSBURG, GERMANY - JANUARY 18: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund and Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring his team's third goalduring the Bundesliga match between FC Augsburg and Borussia Dortmund at WWK-Arena on January 18, 2020 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

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AUGSBURG, GERMANY – JANUARY 18: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Florian Niederlechner of FC Augsburg and Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund battle for the ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Augsburg and Borussia Dortmund at WWK-Arena on January 18, 2020 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

Defence: Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Mats Hummels, Raphael Guerreiro

We could definitely see a change in formation back to Lucien Favre’s preferred 4-2-3-1 on Friday. With Dan-Axel Zagadou still injured and Lukasz Piszczek struggling against Augsburg it may make the most sense, especially with Haaland in the fold.

And with Köln set to park the bus, a back four would give Dortmund more numbers in attack. Hakimi and Guerreiro should operate in the full-back positions, both of them possess the seamless ability to jump into the Dortmund attack.

Mats Hummels and Manuel Akanji are by default the starting center-backs for Borussia Dortmund right now. Manuel Akanji hasn’t quite been the same player this season and if Dan-Axel Zagadou was available I could see Akanji getting dropped. Regardless he has Favre’s full trust and will be starting inside next to Hummels.

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