Borussia Dortmund face Arsenal in the Emirates Cup on Sunday as European giants clash in a high-octane game at the Emirates.
Niko Kovac's side prepare for their most competitive outing of the preseason yet, against Mikel Arteta's Premier League champions, as the 2026-27 campaign gets ever closer to beginning.
The BVB on Friday, welcomed back their last two remaining first team stars Gregor Kobel and Julian Ryerson from the summer break but are unlikely to feature against Arsenal.
Head coach Niko Kovac would be cautious against throwing them at the deep end and give the same treatement as other World Cup stars when they returned for the first time, by leaving both out of the matchday squad.
Following a disappointing BVB Evonik Japan Tour last week that yielded a loss and a win each from two games while scoring just one goal, Dortmund will be hoping to make a point here with many of their regulars now back and also having featured against FC Tokyo last weekend.
As for Arsenal, the English champions are still without their England and Spain World Cup stars although Arteta is looking to integrate the rest as their first top-flight match of the 2026-27 season is less than two weeks away now.
The Gunners though, are set to receive a massive boost with skipper Martin Odegaard returning to the fold and the Norwegian could be headed straight back into the starting lineup here with the home side looking to pick themeselves up from a 3-1 humbling to Real Betis in their last friendly.
New signing Bruno Guimaraes won't play for Arsenal as the match comes too soon for the Brazilian midfielder who is yet to be officially announced by the club. Louis Copely suffered an ACL tear against Betis in their last match and will be sidelined too.
Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund Predicted XI
Arsenal's probable XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Ben White, Christhian Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Kai Havertz; Max Dowman, Viktor Gyokeres, Christos Tzolis.
Dortmund's probable XI: Patrick Drewes; Luca Reggiani, Waldemar Anton, Romeo Ritter, Daniel Svensson; Jobe Bellingham, Felix Nmecha, Maximilian Beier; Fabio Silva, Konstantinos Karetsas; Serhou Guirassy.
Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction
This is a game of Champions League caliber but with many first team stars from both camps unlikely to start, it could end up on a sombre note with Arsenal and Dortmund playing out a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
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