Hoffenheim vs. Borussia Dortmund – Bundesliga preview
Two contrasting Bundesliga teams, Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund, will go head to head on Saturday, August 13, at AWD-Arena. The hosts, fresh from a 2-1 defeat in the opening week, will be looking to register their first win of the new campaign.
Dortmund, on the other hand, will be looking to continue their winning spree after defeating http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hamburger-SV-c39485 last Friday.
Hoffenheim
Holger Stanislawski’s side will certainly go out there in order to open their account in this year’s campaign. The club would be hoping to achieve the improbable by beating the reigning champions who were classy in their opening game against Hamburg.
The manager would want his side to overcome the mistakes committed in the first game and start from scratch against the Borussians. The hosts conceded two goals in space of 15 minutes which is going to be a concern for the boss going into Saturday’s game.
The club finished 11th in the league last time around and Stanislawski would definitely want to finish in the top six at the conclusion of the 2011/12 campaign.
Borussia Dortmund
The Borussians seem to have every aspect of their game covered and same would be the case when they travel away to the AWD-Arena. Jurgen Klopp’s side are fresh from a 3-1 victory over Hamburg and once again will be the favourites going into this game.
Manager Klopp doesn’t have too much to worry about and will hope that his side could carry on the momentum against Hoffenheim. Dortmund are famous for their attacking instincts which means that the opposition would have to strengthen their defence in order
to have any chance of beating the Black Yellows.
Team News
Hoffenheim
The home side are likely to alter their formation from the first game and could change it to a standard 4-4-2. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tom-c35214 Starke will once again guard the home side’s net. There are no major injury concerns
for Stanislawski at this point in time.
Borussia Dortmund
The Black Yellows will certainly go in with their famous 4-5-1 formation. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sebastian-Kehl-c32732 is also set to make a return to the starting XI after making a late appearance from the bench
in the game against Hamburg. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roman-Weidenfeller-c31655 will once again take care of the visitor’s goal.
Players to Watch
Hoffenheim will count on the abilities of Nigerian striker, Obasi, whose pace could be useful against an unstoppable Dortmund side. The striker has 25 league goals to his name so far from 74 appearances and a 26th against the Borussians could
prove costly for the visitors.
Dortmund have a talented line-up and will be relying on every individual. Japanese sensation http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Japan-c2928 international could offer some tough time to his Nigerian counterpart
on Saturday.
Prediction
Despite playing away from home, Dortmund are clear favourites to win the encounter. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, are expected to provide decent fight at home. The end result could be 2-1 in the visitor’s favour.
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