Borussia Dortmund vs. Stuttgart preview: An important top-four battle
Two teams looking to secure Champions League qualification will face off when fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund face a Stuttgart side that currently sits in third position in the Bundesliga table.
| Photo: Borussia Dortmund |
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund will carry significant momentum into the weekend after winning each of their last five matches across all competitions. In their most recent outing, goals from Karim Adeyemi and Julian Ryerson guided Dortmund to their first league win over rivals Bayern Munich since November 2018. The 2-0 result also represented their first Bundesliga away win in the Klassiker since they recorded a 3-0 victory in April 2014.
With seven matches left to play, die Schwarzgelben are on course to secure a top-four finish. However, they can ill afford to rest on their laurels, with RB Leipzig sitting just three points behind in fifth position.
Dortmund may have one eye on Wednesday’s trip to the Spanish capital for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Atlético Madrid. But, before they head on their travels, Edin Terzic’s side must negotiate a tricky home league game. Dortmund will be fully aware of Stuttgart’s quality, having already lost two head-to-head meetings this season. They fell to a 2-1 defeat in November’s league meeting before losing 2-0 in December’s DFB-Pokal tie. With both of those matches taking place at the MHPArena, die Schwarzgelben will be pleased to have home advantage, especially after winning their last two home meetings with Stuttgart.
Team News
Terzic has confirmed that Donyell Malen is a major doubt for Saturday’s fixture. Dortmund will definitely be without the services of Ramy Bensebaini, but Gregor Kobel and Marcel Sabitzer will both be available after recovering from their respective injury issues.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart are currently sitting four points above Dortmund after winning 18, drawing three and losing six of their 27 Bundesliga matches. They are also unbeaten in nine top-flight games after they played out a six-goal thriller against Heidenheim last weekend. Sehrou Guirassy and Angelo Stiller gave Stuttgart a two-goal advantage, before Heidenheim staged a dramatic turnaround to establish a 3-2 lead. However, there was to be one final twist, with Deniz Undav netting a 98th-minute equaliser to salvage a point for his side.
Die Schwaben will now head on their travels, where they will be looking to continue their fine run of form on the road. Stuttgart have each of their last four Bundesliga away games since losing to Bochum on January 20. The visitors are looking to beat Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park for the first time since running out 5-1 winners in December 2020.
Team News
The visitors are unable to call upon Anthony Rouault, Samuele di Benedetto, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Nikolas Nartey and Roberto Massimo. Silas is a doubt due to illness, while Waldemar Anton will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.