Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Mönchengladbach: Three key battles
By Stuart Gent
Borussia Dortmund’s back three vs Gladbach’s front four
Gladbach have some excellent quality in attack in the form of Jonas Hofmann and Patrick Herrmann, who were both on the score sheet in their DFB Pokal 0-8 win against FC Oberneuland last weekend. Both Hofmann and Herrmann can cause trouble if they can get in behind the Dortmund wing-backs as they push forward. If they can get into those spaces untracked it will leave the Dortmund back three having to split to track the runner. This could then leave a 2v2 between the remaining two centre backs against the Gladbach striker and attacking central midfielder.
Hofmann and Herrmann could be joined by Marcus Thuram, who joined Gladbach in the summer of 2019 scoring ten goals and assisting a further eight in the Bundesliga. Alassane Plea, who forged a great partnership with Thuram last season, is also available for the Foals and could start on the bench. They will also have Lars Stindl available if Marco Rose decides Thuram and Plea aren’t ready to start. He scored in the previous fixture between the two teams.
Their strike force will certainly be a handful for that back three of Dortmund which could feature Manuel Akanji, Mats Hummels and Emre Can, who are all comfortable with the ball at their feet. Hummels was one of the Bundesliga’s best defenders last season, and will be aiming to lead Borussia Dortmund to victory in the opening game of the season. Manuel Akanji endured a difficult campaign last season, but looks set to be a key player once again this season.