Augsburg-Borussia Dortmund is a match of the thirty-third day of the Bundesliga and is played Sunday at 5:30pm: TV, lineups, predictions.
Yesterday in Dortmund they cheered almost as if a title had been won. Bayern Munich fell at home to Leipzig, which indirectly gave a huge gift to the Yellowoners.
The ball now passes into the hands of Edin Terzic’s team, which by winning at home to Augsburg has the opportunity – probably the last one – to win the Meisterschale for the first time in 11 years and to break the long Bavarian domination. With a win, then, Borussia Dortmund, now -1 behind Thomas Tuchel’s men, would carry out the much-needed overtaking, becoming masters of their own destiny once again. A draw, on the other hand, could not suffice: in the event of a tied finish Hummels and his teammates would have the worst of it given the abysmal gap in goal difference. A determined and focused Borussia will be needed. And that, above all, will not be overwhelmed by pressure, as happened three weeks ago during the derby against Bochum: the half-hearted misstep against their cousins, which was totally unexpected, allowed Bayern to make the counter-takeover. Since then, two wins out of two have come for the yellow-and-white lineup, which first handed out six to Wolfsburg (6-0) and then five to Borussia Monchengladbach (5-2).
Borussia, operation overtaking (and title)
And Augsburg? The Bavarians after yesterday’s games are almost safe. Schalke 04, one of the two teams that could still join the Fuggerstadters by sending them to play in the promotion-relegation playoff, did not go beyond a draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. All that remains is to wait for the result of Stuttgart, today engaged with Mainz.
Rexhbeçaj exults after a goal
If Henry Maassen’s men were to finish on equal points with the Gelsenkirchen club, they would be in no danger because of their goal difference, which is significantly better than Schalke’s (-16 vs. -34). Augsburg are coming off an away defeat in their direct clash with Bochum (3-2), but they have lost only once in front of their home crowd in 2023 since the Bundesliga resumed. The first leg, staged in January, ended in a pyrotechnic 4-3 in favor of Borussia Dortmund. Maassen will have to deal with several absentees, including Baumgartlinger, Gikiewicz, Iago, Jensen, Vargas and the disqualified Gumny, while Terzic will almost certainly be without Bellingham.
The Prediction
Augsburg at home is notoriously tough. But after yesterday’s results for salvation only the verdict of arithmetic is missing and even a defeat could be painless. So we are betting on Borussia Dortmund’s victory, which could mean overtaking – and perhaps even the title – after Bayern Munich’s resounding slip with Leipzig. Both teams are expected to score.
The likely Augsburg-Borussia Dortmund lineups
- AUGSBURG (3-4-3): Koubek; Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai; Maier, Engels, Rexhbecaj, Pedersen; Berisha, Beljo, Demirovic.
- BORUSSIA DORTMUND (4-3-3): Kobel; Wolf, Süle, Hummels, Ryerson; Brandt, Emre Can, Guerreiro; Malen, Haller, Adeyemi.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
