Borussia Dortmund can be excused for feeling excited at the prospect of facing Paderborn again. The sides are meeting after a gap of six years as the North Rhine-Westphalia gained promotion to Bundesliga last season for the first time since 2020.
But why would the BVB be happy upon facing them again, you ask? Because they haven't lost in the fixture before. In fact, of their previous four meetings in the German top-flight, Dortmund have won twice while another two ended in a stalemate.
As the sides gear up to renew hostilies again, here's a complete breakdown of their previous four clashes in the Bundesliga:
Paderborn 2-2 Dortmund (November 2014)
Despite the massive difference in stature between these clubs, Paderborn were able to make a big statement in their first meeting with Dortmund back in 2014. First-half goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus had them leading 2-0 at the break but the promoted side produced an incredible comeback in the second stanza.
Right at the stroke of the hour mark, Lukas Rupp pulled one back for the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit before Mahir Saglik came off the bench to score the equalizer.
Dortmund 3-0 Paderborn (April 2015)
Dortmund had their revenge in the return clash at home, hitting Paderborn with three unanswered goals. But it didn't start off on a promising note though, with the BVB struggling to find their way past their stingy visitors.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan then broke the deadlock in the 48th minute with a header off a cross from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who then scored the second a few. Shinji Kagawa added a late third to put the final nail in Paderborn's coffin.
Dortmund 3-3 Paderborn (November 2019)
Four years later when the sides met again in Dortmund, the BVB scored three goals again. But so did Paderborn as the rivals played out a pulsating six-goal thriller at the Signal Iduna Park.
In fact, the visitors netted three first-half goals to lead 3-0 in the opening stanza as Dortmund were shell-shocked. But a fine second-half display saw them equalize with Marco Reus making it 3-3 in stoppage-time.
Paderborn 1-6 Dortmund (May 2020)
In their last official meeting, Die Schwarzgelben put up another extraordinary second-half performance as Paderborn were blown away in their own backyard.
Thorgan Hazard began the onslaught before Jadon Sancho netted a sensational hat-trick with Achraf Hakimi and Marcel Schmelzer also getting into the act along the way.
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