Borussia Dortmund-Cologne is a match from the first day of the Bundesliga and is played on Saturday at 6:30pm: TV, likely lineups, predictions.
A still “wounded” Borussia Dortmund plunges headlong back into the league, aiming to forget what happened last May. The yellow-and-whites were one step away from lifting their first Meisterschale after 11 long years, putting an end to the “tyranny” of Bayern Munich, which had been virtually unrivaled for ten seasons in a row.
After overtaking the Bavarians with ninety minutes left in the tournament, the Yellow and Gold would have only needed to beat Mainz, a team already on vacation and now out of the fight for European positions, to win the title. And instead Edin Terzic’s men did not go beyond a draw against the red and white, squandering their two-point lead over Bayern and slipping to second place because of the worst goal difference. A real psychodrama destined to go down in history. It will not be easy to restart, even though in the preseason friendlies Borussia Dortmund had six wins out of seven, including wins over Manchester United and Ajax. The new arrivals seem to have already settled into Terzic’s schemes: in the first tests, both Bensebaini and Sabitzer shone, but Felix Nmecha, who showed excellent chemistry with Emre Can, did not disappoint either.
Complicated debut for Cologne
In the past week, the Yellowonians played their first official match, overwhelming the hapless Schott Mainz (1-6) with goals in the German Cup round.
Baumgart
Cologne, whose adventure in the 2023-24 Bundesliga will start right at Signal Iduna Park, a stadium that the Billy Goats have only managed to conquer seven times in the 47 challenges played in Dortmund in the top flight, is also off to a good start. Steffen Baumgart’s red-and-whites, orphaned by their now former captain Hector – he retired at only 33 – are betting big on striker Waldschmidt, who has arrived on loan from Wolfsburg. In the last friendly, Cologne got the better of Nantes 2-0. In the first round of the national cup, on the other hand, they needed extra time to fold Osnabruck (1-3).
The prediction
Borussia Dortmund has surprised positively in their first outings of the season, and the home unbeaten streak that has been going on for 19 games should extend against Cologne as well. The total goals are likely to be at least three.
The probable lineups of Borussia Dortmund-Cologne
- BORUSSIA DORTMUND (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Süle, Hummels, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Emre Can; Malen, Reus, Brandt; Haller.
- COLONIA (4-2-3-1): Schwäbe; Schmitz, Hübers, Chabot, Paqarada; Olesen, Martel; Huseinbasic, Waldschmidt, Kainz; Adamyan.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
