Played
September 15, 2012 9:30 AM EDT
Signal-Iduna-Park — Dortmund
Referee: F. Brych
Attendance: 80645
September 15, 2012 9:30 AM EDT
Signal-Iduna-Park — Dortmund
Referee: F. Brych
Attendance: 80645
Bundesliga Preview: Borussia Dortmund - Bayer Leverkusen
The reigning champion could only record a 1-1 draw with Dieter Hecking's men a fortnight ago, but have a full squad to choose from for the clash with die Werkself.
By Enis Koylu
Getty Images
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
 Weidenfeller Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer Gundogan, Kehl Kuba, Gotze, Reus Lewandowski |
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
 Leno Carvajal, Wollscheid, Toprak, Kadlec Bender, Reinartz, Rolfes Castro, Kiessling, Schurrle |
Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that he has a full squad to pick from for the visit of the North Rhine Westphalia rival.
Mario Gotze has been used sparingly by the champion so far this season after a string of injuries has hampered his year, but after featuring heavily for Germany during the international break, he should be able to come back into the starting lineup at the expense of Kevin Grosskreutz, who has been less than impressive this season.
Elsewhere, Sven Bender is yet to play a minute of soccer this season after hernia surgery, but should be fine to take up a place on the bench, with club captain Sebastian Kehl continuing in midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen have just Sidney Sam, who is back in training but lacking fitness, missing for the trip to Signal Iduna Park, and Sami Hyypia's men should line up in a 4-3-3 formation.
Former Real Madrid trainee Dani Carvajal should keep his place at right back after a promising performance against Freiburg on matchday 2.
One change that the former Liverpool defender could make would see Stefan Reinartz, who was in poor form a fortnight ago, replaced by Renato Augusto, should the Finn see the need to go for a more attacking option in midfield.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Borussia Dortmund finished seven points ahead of second-placed Leverkusen in its first Bundesliga-winning season under Jurgen Klopp.
- Die Schwarzgelben managed to score just one goal against their fellow North Rhine Westphalia outfit last season, but still managed to gain a total of four points.
- Dortmund duo Marco Reus (pictured, right) and Oliver Kirch will be particularly eager to impress on Saturday, having represented Leverkusen's Rhine rivals Borussia Monchengladbach before moving to Jurgen Klopp's side.
- Bayer Leverkusen has beaten Dortmund just once in the last four seasons. Then coached by current Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes, it triumphed 2-0 at Signal Iduna Park on matchday 1 in the 2010-11 season.
- Lars Bender could face his identical twin brother Sven on Saturday, should the latter recover sufficiently from hernia surgery to feature.
- Die Werkself are the only team in history to have reached the Champions League final without ever having won its domestic league.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Leverkusen
- 20.12 %
-
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Leverkusen
- 12.68 %
-
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Leverkusen
- 12.27 %
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Feb 3, 2013 | Leverkusen 2 - Borussia Dortmund 3 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Sep 15, 2012 | Borussia Dortmund 3 - Leverkusen 0 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Feb 11, 2012 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - Leverkusen 0 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Aug 27, 2011 | Leverkusen 0 - Borussia Dortmund 0 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Jan 14, 2011 | Leverkusen 1 - Borussia Dortmund 3 |
|
Borussia Dortmund
    |
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| May 25, 2013 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayern 2 | UCL |
| May 18, 2013 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - TSG Hoffenheim 2 | GER1 |
| May 11, 2013 | Wolfsburg 3 - Borussia Dortmund 3 | GER1 |
| May 4, 2013 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayern 1 | GER1 |
| Apr 30, 2013 | Real Madrid 2 - Borussia Dortmund 0 | UCL |
Leverkusen
  |
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| May 18, 2013 | Hamburger 0 - Leverkusen 1 | GER1 |
| May 11, 2013 | Leverkusen 3 - Hannover 96 1 | GER1 |
| May 4, 2013 | Nürnberg 0 - Leverkusen 2 | GER1 |
| Apr 27, 2013 | Leverkusen 1 - Werder Bremen 0 | GER1 |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Leverkusen 5 - TSG Hoffenheim 0 | GER1 |
| 1 | Roman Weidenfeller | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Neven Subotic | Defender |
| 15 | Mats Hummels | Defender |
| 26 | Lukasz Piszczek | Defender |
| 29 | Marcel Schmelzer | Defender |
| 5 | Sebastian Kehl | Midfielder |
| 8 | Ilkay Gündogan | Midfielder |
| 10 | Mario Götze | Midfielder |
| 16 | Jakub Blaszczykowski | Midfielder |
| 19 | Kevin Großkreutz | Midfielder |
| 9 | Robert Lewandowski | Striker |
| 20 | Mitchell Langerak | Goalkeeper |
| 27 | Felipe Santana | Defender |
| 6 | Sven Bender | Midfielder |
| 7 | Moritz Leitner | Midfielder |
| 14 | Ivan Perisic | Midfielder |
| 11 | Marco Reus | Midfielder |
| 23 | Julian Schieber | Striker |
| 1 | Bernd Leno | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Philipp Wollscheid | Defender |
| 32 | Daniel Carvajal | Defender |
| 21 | Ömer Toprak | Defender |
| 24 | Michal Kadlec | Defender |
| 3 | Stefan Reinartz | Midfielder |
| 8 | Lars Bender | Midfielder |
| 13 | Jens Hegeler | Midfielder |
| 27 | G. Castro | Defender |
| 9 | Andre Schürrle | Striker |
| 11 | Stefan Kießling | Striker |
| 1 | Michael Rensing | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Daniel Schwaab | Defender |
| 5 | Manuel Friedrich | Defender |
| 6 | Simon Rolfes | Midfielder |
| 25 | Renato Augusto | Midfielder |
| 14 | Hajime Hosogai | Midfielder |
| 38 | Karim Bellarabi | Midfielder |
Results
Times In EDT
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stefan Kießling Striker Bayer Leverkusen |
25 | 4 |
|
Robert Lewandowski Striker Borussia Dortmund |
24 | 1 |
|
Alexander Meier Midfielder Eintracht Frankfurt |
17 | 3 |
|
Vedad Ibisevic Striker VfB Stuttgart |
15 | 5 |
|
Mario Mandzukic Striker FC Bayern München |
15 | 0 |
