Greuther Fürth vs Borussia Dortmund preview: Can Die Schwarzgelben return to winning ways?
After losing their last two matches, Dortmund will be looking to get back on track when they face relegated Greuther Fürth on Saturday.
| Marco Rose. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Greuther Fürth
Fürth will play their final Bundesliga home game of 2022 on Saturday, with the bottom-placed side returning to the second tier for next season.
Saturday's hosts have struggled to cope with the demands of the top flight this term, which is demonstrated by the fact that they have collected just 18 points from their 32 league matches this season.
They enter the weekend winless in their last ten encounters, although they led part of their contest with Union Berlin last weekend. Branimir Hrgota gave Fürth a slender advantage at half time, but the Kleeblätter were denied their first away league win of the season when Sven Michel struck in the 72nd minute.
Despite giving up a lead against Union, Stefan Leitl will be pleased that his side have conceded no more than one goal in four of their last six league games.
With Leitl set to leave the club at the end of the season, the 44-year-old would love for his final home match as Fürth boss to end with victory over Dortmund.
Team News
Håvard Nielsen and Marco Meyerhöfer are both ruled out for the hosts due to injury issues, while Jetro Willems is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Borussia Dortmund
Marco Rose's first season as Dortmund boss is drawing to a close, and it is fair to say, the campaign has been rather underwhelming. Dortmund have failed to win any silverware, while they enter the weekend 12 points adrift of champions Bayern Munich.
They will also be in a downbeat mood after losing their last two matches. Bayern beat Dortmund 3-1 to clinch their tenth consecutive league title, while last weekend, Rose's side lost 4-3 to their neighbours Bochum.
That performance highlighted the issues that have hindered Die Schwarzgelben this season. Although they are the second-highest scorers in the Bundesliga, their defence has let them down, with nine teams conceding fewer league goals than Dortmund this term.
Despite their recent failings, Dortmund will believe that they have the firepower to overcome a Fürth side, who have the worst defensive record in the Bundesliga.
Team News
Rose has suggested that Haaland is a doubt due to illness, while there will be no Mahmoud Dahoud and Thorgan Hazard, who are both set to return to training next week.
The injury list does not stop there, with the likes of Mahmoud Dahoud, Donyell Malen, Mats Hummels, Giovanni Reyna and Steffen Tigges all ruled out due to injury issues.
