At the top of the standings, the only ones with full points after the first two days of the Bundesliga, are they. And who could they be if not Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. As has been the case in recent seasons, in fact, the fight for the Schale is likely to involve the two great rivals of German football. The yellow-and-whites will once again play the role of pursuers, as they have done for the past ten years. The start, however, is quite comforting. And it was by no means a foregone conclusion after the many novelties and twists and turns – from the change in the bench between Marco Rose and Edin Terzic to the announced departure of slinger Haaland and the distressing discovery of a testicular tumour, which put new centre-forward Haller out of action for several months – that characterised their pre-season.
Reus and his team-mates nevertheless proved capable of overcoming the various critical issues by scoring maximum points against two respectable opponents Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg, beaten 1-0 and 3-1 respectively. The victories in official matches become three if we also consider the one in the German Cup against 1860 Munich.
Now at the Signal Iduna Park comes the newly-promoted Werder Bremen, waiting to learn more about the insistent rumours about the probable arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo: yes, apparently Borussia is at the top of the list of super-procurer Mendes and, despite the arrival of Modeste from Cologne, CR7 would be the best replacement for the unfortunate Haller. Werder Bremen’s season, back in the Bundesliga after just one year of purgatory, began with a double draw against Wolfsburg and Stuttgart. The lowest common denominator? The result: Ole Werner’s team drew 2-2 with both, revealing merits (the attack responded) but also flaws (some improvement is needed in defence).
Ole Werner ©️Ansafoto
The Prediction
Werder Bremen’s fragile defence – four goals conceded in two matches – will be able to do little against Borussia Dortmund’s battery of attacking players, who should have no trouble bringing home their third consecutive victory. There will be no shortage of goals at Signal Iduna Park, and in all likelihood they will total at least three.
Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen matchday squad
BORUSSIA DORTMUND (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Meunier, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Dahoud, Bellingham; Malen, Reus, Hazard; Modeste.
WERDER BREMA (3-5-2): Pavlenka; Pieper, Veljkovic, Friedl; Weiser, Bittencourt, Groß, Stage, Jung; Füllkrug, Ducksch.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
