Borussia Dortmund return to action on Friday at the WWK Arena to take on a struggling Augsburg in the Bundesliga on matchday nine of the 2025-26 season.
After two winless games - against RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich - BVB returned to winning ways in the league with a narrow 1-0 win over FC Koln last weekend.
Buoyed by the result, Niko Kovac's side beat Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties in the DFB-Pokal Cup on Tuesday, too, advancing into the third round of the competition.
Friday the ̶1̶3̶t̶h̶ 31st. 😈🎃⌛️ pic.twitter.com/9LjCxSZKT2
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) October 30, 2025
This week, the side will play their last game of October 2025 and aim to wrap up another solid month with a bang.
With 17 points in the bag from eight league games, Dortmund are currently in fourth position of the Bundesliga standings, trailing runaway leaders Bayern Munich by seven points. They cannot afford to slip up again as it could see their title ambitions in the league fizzle out before the winter break.
Moreover, the side also has a daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium next week to play Manchester City in the Champions League. A win here would build momentum for them as Dortmund look to reach the knockout stages.
For now, their sights are on the crisis-ridden Augsburg, which started its campaign with back-to-back wins in all competitions, but fizzled out right after that. Their league run began with a 3-1 win away to Freiburg, but they lost their next four in a row.
RB Leipzig thrashed FC Augsburg 6-0 away from home, with six different goalscorers 😳⚽️ pic.twitter.com/BRve8zZux2
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 25, 2025
A 3-1 defeat of Wolfsburg at the start of the month cut them some slack, but Cologne then pegged them back in a 1-1 stalemate before RB Leipzig blew them away in a stunning 6-0 demolition at the WWK Arena last weekend.
To further compound their misery, the Fuggerstadter also exited the German Cup this week as second division side Bochum overcame them 1-0 in their own backyard, as Augsburg's woes at home came to light once more.
Dortmund, who have lost their last two league meetings to them, might be licking their lips here at the prospect of facing them. Here's how Kovac's swashbuckling team could line up for the encounter on matchday nine of the Bundesliga:
BVB were bolstered by the return of Aaron Anselmino on Tuesday, as he featured in the game against Frankfurt. He may come off the bench once more. But Serhou Guirassy should be back in the XI after coming off the bench last time out. The Guinean international is currently going through a drought, having failed to score in his last five competitive games.
He, along with Carney Chukwuemeka and Karim Adeyemi, is likely to lead the line for the visitors. Meanwhile, creative specialist Felix Nmecha could also be reinstated in the starting XI here, as he'd be vital to dictating their offensive plays.
Borussia Dortmund probable XI: Gregor Kobel; Ramy Bensebaini, Nico Schlotterbeck, Waldemar Anton; Daniel Svensson, Felix Nmecha, Pascal Gross, Julian Ryerson; Carney Chukwuemeka, Karim Adeyemi; Serhou Guirassy.