Borussia Dortmund-Wolfsburg is a match of the 31st day of the Bundesliga and is played Sunday at 5:30pm: TV, lineups, predictions.
This is in danger of becoming the Bundesliga of regrets for Borussia Dortmund, which was countered by Bayern Munich on the previous day. The yellow-and-whites, after regaining the top of the standings following the Bavarians’ thud at home to Mainz, had become masters of their own destiny but the unexpected draw in Bochum complicated everything.
Edim Terzic’s team probably got eaten up by the pressure and is now again forced to chase, while hoping for another (unlikely) misstep by Thomas Tuchel’s battleship in the last three rounds of the league. In the Ruhr derby, things had been looking bad from the very first minutes, with Dortmund ending up under immediately: Adeyemi’s immediate equalizer but Thomas Letsch’s men managed to withstand the Yellow and Black assault, averting a comeback. A draw that could cost Borussia dearly, but as close as it came this year to breaking Bayern Munich’s dictatorship, which has lasted undaunted since back in 2013. Yesterday Terzic trusted in a Werder Bremen “miracle” but Gnabry and Sané in the second half tamed the green-and-whites, momentarily stretching to +4 over Dortmund, now obliged to beat Wolfsburg.
Borussia Dortmund at home is a roller
Bellingham and his teammates boast the best home performance in the Bundesliga, where they have scored 37 points out of 42 available: 12 wins, one draw and one defeat.
Wolfsburg’s Marmoush
Wolfsburg is on notice but Niko Kovac’s team is unlikely to be in a gift-giving mood, as they are still in the running for a European spot. The green-and-whites’ two resounding victories against Bochum and Mainz, overwhelmed 5-1 and 3-0 respectively, have enabled the men led by the former Bayern Munich coach to move to within just two points of Bayer Leverkusen, which was surprisingly defeated in the advance by Cologne. In case of success, therefore, Wolfsburg would bypass Roma’s next opponents in the Europa League. Kovac will travel to Dortmund with morale high, but will have to do without three important pawns such as Nmecha, Otavio and Lacroix. In Borussia, Guerreiro and Schlotterbeck are in doubt.
The prediction
In the first leg Wolfsburg got the better of Dortmund 2-0, who changed pace after the World Cup break. The yellow-and-whites must compulsorily answer Bayern Munich, and any result other than victory would serve the title to the Bavarians on a silver platter. We trust their (almost) flawless home performance, although Kovac’s green-and-whites will give them a hard time in a match of at least one goal per side.
The likely Borussia Dortmund-Wolfsburg lineups
- BORUSSIA DORTMUND (4-3-3): Kobel; Wolf, Süle, Hummels, Ryerson; Bellingham, Emre Can, Brandt; Malen, Haller, Adeyemi.
- WOLFSBURG (3-4-3): Casteels; Bornauw, Guilavogui, Van de Ven; Baku, Arnold, F. Nmecha, Kaminski; Svanberg, Wind, Wimmer.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
