Borussia Dortmund set for double header against Duisburg and Feyenoord on Saturday

Borussia Dortmund will be in action twice on Saturday, playing against both MSV Duisburg and Feyenoord in back to back pre-season friendlies.

Lucien Favre and Borussia Dortmund will have two split squad games on Saturday as they conduct their first friendlies after coming back from Switzerland. They will take on MSV Duisburg and Feyenoord as part of the ‘Traditions Cup’ in Duisburg.

The games will be played one after another, and will have a slightly different format. Both games will only be 60 minutes long, with two halves of 30 minutes each. Putting out two completely different starting XI’s will give Lucien Favre more opportunity to see all his eligible players get some game time.

Unfortunately, Youssoufa Moukoko won’t be one of them as the teenager is still ineligible to play until he turns 16 years old. Marco Reus, Thomas Meunier, Dan Axel Zagadou and Mahmoud Dahoud will also miss out, as will new signing Reinier Jesus.

Dortmund’s first game will be against German third division side MSV Duisburg (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), who by coincidence, will also be their opponent in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Right after that game, Dortmund will take on Dutch side Feyenoord in another 60 minute game (kick-off: 16:45 CEST). Feyenoord and Duisburg will then face off, before a trophy presentation will take place for the winner of the short tournament.

Players to Watch

Regardless of how Dortmund line up in these games, whether it be one “starting XI” and a bit weaker XI or just even split groups, there will be several players to keep an eye on. First off is new signing Jude Bellingham who has really impressed so far in pre-season. In theory he should only get better and better from here on out as he gets more acclimated to the squad. It will also be interesting to see what formation Favre plays and where we see the youngster.

Gio Reyna will be another one to keep your eye on as he has gotten off to a lightning fast start to the pre-season scoring 3 goals in the first 2 games. Jadon Sancho scored one and assisted three goals in just 45 minutes against Austria Wien, and he will be looking to continue his excellent pre-season form.

Tobias Raschl is a player who has been turning heads in the pre-season so far although he doesn’t get the same type of hype Bellingham and Reyna do. He could be poised for a bit of a breakout season this year should he get his chances.