Dortmund have seen a dip in form lately and will be hoping to return to winning ways when the German Bundesliga returns this weekend.
Lucien Favre’s side who have dropped into 8th on the standings will host high-flying Borussia Monchengladbach at the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening.
The 2-2 draw away to Freiburg was Dortmunds third on the trot having overseen a similar scoreline against Bremen and Frankfurt in the previous two games.
The problem for the Black and Yellows has been letting in goals at the other end as they have already conceded 11 goals, the most in the top 9.
Despite the draws, Dortmund have proved hard to beat this season and are currently a six game unbeaten run in all competitions, four in the Bundesliga.
This season, they have lost just once with the defeat coming at the hands of Union Berlin on match-day three.
Eighth may look horrible on the eye but BVB are only four points of the top of the log, suggesting they are very much still in contention for the title but will know they need to start winning games as soon as possible before that margin grows further.
For Gladbach, they are currently the team sitting top of the standings which comes as a surprise to everyone especially after a shaky start to the season that saw them win just one of their opening three games.
Climb top is due to the fact that Gladbach have been in scintillating form lately as they have gone on to win all their last four games.
During that period, they have defeated Koln, Dusseldorf, Hoffenheim and Augsburg. However, none of those sides poses the threat like the one Dortmund can pose so Saturday’s game will come as a test to Gladbach’s resolve.
Gladbach will also come into the game with upto 9 players out injured while Dortmund will be without Lukas Piszczek, Nico Schulz and Eric Oelschagel while Paco Alcacer is also a doubt.
Dortmund enters into the game having won all the past 8 fixtures between the two sides including in a 2-1 victory at the Signal Iduna Park last season.
Gladbach’s last victory in this fixture dates back to April 2015 when they beat Dortmund 3-1 at the Borussia Park, a year after their last win at the Signal Iduna Park.
Another interesting fixture will be Leverkusen’s visit to Frankfurt on Friday night.
Both sides enter into the game on a three game unbeaten run with Frankfurt winning one and drawing two of their last three games.
Their latest fixture saw them concede a 90th-minute equalizer as they drew 2-2 at home to Werder Bremen in a game that they will feel they should have won as they were extremely dominant.
On the same weekend, Leverkusen also drew but their stalemate was more impressive as they held RB Leipzig.
The result ended their two game winning run that had seen Peter Bosz’s side beat up on both Augsburg and Union Berlin.
Leverkusen are currently 7th on the log, four points above Frankfurt who occupy 9th.
In the treatment room ahead of the game, Leverkusen will be sweating on the fitness of Jamaican forward Leon Bailey. Lars Bender, Charles Aranguiz and Daley Sinkgraven are all definitely out of the contest.
For Gladbach, Kevin Trapp and Bas Dost are their only injury concerns.
Leverkusen have enjoyed better form in the recent meetings with Frankfurt as they have lost only one of the past five match-ups, winning four.
On Saturday, both Liepzig and Bayern will also be in action.
Leipzig who have not won any of their last two games (D1 L1) and currently sit 5th, will be at home to Wolfsburg.
For Bayern who lost 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim in their last game, they visit Augsburg.
All the German Bundesliga match-day 8 fixtures
Friday, 18-10-2019
-Frankfurt vs Leverkusen @9:30pm
Saturday, 19-10-2019
-Leipzig vs Wolfsburg @4:30pm
-Dusseldorf vs Mainz @4:30pm
-Bremen vs Hertha Berlin @4:30pm
-Augsburg vs Bayern @4:30pm
-Union Berlin vs Freiburg @4:30pm
-Dortmund vs Gladbach @730pm
Sunday, 20-10-2019
-Koln vs Paderborn @4:30pm
-Hoffenheim vs Schalke 04 @7pm
