Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac has hinted at possible changes in his squad for their Franz Beckenbauer Supercup tie against Bayern Munich on Sunday.
The BVB clash with the Bavarians in the one-off cup tie at the Signal Iduna Park, hoping to make an early title statement with a win.
Following a month-long preparations and some new young guns added to the roster, Die Borussen finally open their campaign tomorrow with all eyes on the prize.
Here's how they could lineup for the first official game of 2026-27 season:
The defense
Gregor Kobel remains the undisputed choice in goal for the BVB and will have the daunting task of keeping out Harry Kane and Michael Olise. Ahead of him, Kovac is likely to stick with a back-three as he did for the entirety of last season.
Joane Gadou, one of the six summer signings, impressed in friendlies enough to warrant a start here whereas Waldemar Anton is likely to take his place in the centre ahead of Filippo Mane. With Nico Schlotterbeck out until September, Ramy Bensebaini should come in for him on the left on the defensive troika.
The midfield
The dynamic duo of Jobe Bellingham and Felix Nmecha are indispensable at this point, with the pair forging an imperious partnership last season that's set to continue here once more. They could be flanked by wing-backs Julian Ryerson and Daniel Svensson.
Kovac switched their roles during preseason, with Ryerson operating from the left and Svensson prodding from the right. Although it's unclear if that was just an experiment, there's little doubt over their starting place for Saturday.
The attack
Now here comes the more interesting bit. Kovac is spoilt for choice in attack now with some new players joining. Konstantinos Karetsas hit the ground running following his arrival, even bagging a fabulous strike against Arsenal in his first match, and fans will be eager to see what the Greek starlet has in store here.
As much as fans would be tempted to see him linkup with his compatriot Giannis Konstantelias, the match comes a bit soon for him as the latter was unveiled just two days ago. Samuele Inacio has been patiently biding his time to break into the XI and following a series of top-notch displays during the preseason, he's likely to join Karetsas in the number 10.
However, Fabio Silva can't be counted out after shining in the warmups. The Portuguese, who drew a lot of flak for being unable to justify his hefty price tag last season, demonstrated his ability to operate off the centre-forward in friendlies and Kovac might be tempted to give him a chance here.
Prolific striker Serhou Guirassy is likely to start as the main man upfront despite an average preseason campaign that yielded just two goals in six appearances. Having struck 60 times for the club in 96 games, there's little doubt about his ability as the Guinean ace will be relied upon to produce the goods for BVB once more.
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