Borussia Dortmund's Donyell Malen set to miss VFB Stuttgart clash
Borussia Dortmund are set for yet another massive game in their race for Champions League football this weekend as they take on third place VFB Stuttgart at the Westfalenstadion on Saturday. Dortmund currently sit in fourth, four points behind Stuttgart. With a home win this weekend, they could narrow the gap to one point and push on to try and overtake the Swabians for a more secure position in the top four.
The crucial nature of the game means that Dortmund will need all hands on deck to make sure they can get a result against this Stuttgart side, who have already beat them twice this campaign; once in the Bundesliga and once in the DFB Pokal. Unfortunately for Die Schwarzgelben, Donyell Malen is once again unlikely to play a role in the outcome of this game.
Malen, as previously reported, picked up a thigh injury while on international duty with the Netherlands, and the club has been careful with his reintroduction to the squad. According to Ruhr Nachrichten, the Stuttgart game will come too early for Malen, who has been one of Dortmund's most influential players over the course of the second half of the season.
Malen is having the best campaign of his Dortmund career, currently sitting on 11 goals and 1 assist in the Bundesliga. His performances have helped Dortmund really entrench themselves in fourth place, and his good form would have lended itself in this fixture as well.
Luckily for Dortmund, the club have shown that they can cope quite adequately in Malen's absence. Last week's win against Bayern Munich gave Karim Adeyemi the chance to put in a stellar performance and help secure the win for his side by opening the scoring in their 2-0 win. Adeyemi continued to be a danger man for his side, and his uptick in form couldn't have come at a better time.
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Stuttgart have also shown that they are certainly assailable with their recent result against Heidenheim ( 3-3 draw). Malen's absence will certainly be a concern, but if the team defends the way they did against Bayern and go forward with purpose in their attacking play, the club are are more than capable of obtaining a result that brings them one step closer to sealing their place in the top four this season.