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Played
September 15, 2012 2:30 PM BST
Signal-Iduna-Park — Dortmund
Referee:‬ F. Brych‎
Attendance:‬ 80645‎
 

Borussia Dortmund - Bayer Leverkusen Preview: Champions aim to recover from Nurnberg blip

The reigning champions 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

More On :  Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Westfalen Stadium - Borussia Dortmund
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  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 their North Rhine Westphalia rivals.

Mario Gotze has been used sparingly by the champions 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 line-up at the expense of Kevin Grosskreutz, who has been less than impressive this season.

Elsewhere, Sven Bender is yet to play a minute of football 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 their 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 have beaten Dortmund just once in the last four seasons. Then coached by current Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes, they 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 their domestic league.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
    20.12 %
  • Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
    12.68 %
  • Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
    12.27 %
Head to Head
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Feb 3, 2013 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2 - Borussia Dortmund 3
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Sep 15, 2012 Borussia Dortmund 3 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Feb 11, 2012 Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Aug 27, 2011 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0 - Borussia Dortmund 0
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Jan 14, 2011 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1 - Borussia Dortmund 3
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Last Five Matches
Borussia Dortmund
May 25, 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - FC Bayern München 2UCL
May 18, 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - Hoffenheim 2GER1
May 11, 2013VfL Wolfsburg 3 - Borussia Dortmund 3GER1
May 4, 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - FC Bayern München 1GER1
Apr 30, 2013Real Madrid CF 2 - Borussia Dortmund 0UCL
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
May 18, 2013Hamburg 0 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1GER1
May 11, 2013Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3 - Hannover 96 1GER1
May 4, 2013Nürnberg 0 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2GER1
Apr 27, 2013Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1 - Werder Bremen 0GER1
Apr 20, 2013Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5 - Hoffenheim 0GER1
Odds
Returns: Dortmund £15.00 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: Draw £290.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Leverkusen £1260.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Team News
Available Squads
1Roman WeidenfellerGoalkeeper
4Neven SuboticDefender
15Mats HummelsDefender
26Lukasz PiszczekDefender
29Marcel SchmelzerDefender
5Sebastian KehlMidfielder
8Ilkay GündoganMidfielder
10Mario GötzeMidfielder
16Jakub BlaszczykowskiMidfielder
19Kevin GroßkreutzMidfielder
9Robert LewandowskiStriker
20Mitchell LangerakGoalkeeper
27Felipe SantanaDefender
6Sven BenderMidfielder
7Moritz LeitnerMidfielder
14Ivan PerisicMidfielder
11Marco ReusMidfielder
23Julian SchieberStriker
1Bernd LenoGoalkeeper
4Philipp WollscheidDefender
32Daniel CarvajalDefender
21Ömer ToprakDefender
24Michal KadlecDefender
3Stefan ReinartzMidfielder
8Lars BenderMidfielder
13Jens HegelerMidfielder
27G. CastroDefender
9Andre SchürrleStriker
11Stefan KießlingStriker
1Michael RensingGoalkeeper
2Daniel SchwaabDefender
5Manuel FriedrichDefender
6Simon RolfesMidfielder
25Renato AugustoMidfielder
14Hajime HosogaiMidfielder
38Karim BellarabiMidfielder
Players to Watch
Mario Götze
Mario Götze
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 10
Games Goals YC RC
28 10 4 0
Borussia Dortmund have been sadly lacking in creativity so far this season, and have often appeared toothless in attack. However, the full return of Mario Gotze will come as a boost to the hosts due to the 20-year-old's ability to both create and finish chances. He was in great form over the international break during Germany's wins over Faroe Islands and Austria, scoring a magnificent solo goal against the Nordic minnows, and could well and truly make the difference on Saturday.
Stefan Kießling
Stefan Kießling
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 11
Games Goals YC RC
34 25 1 0
After a summer that saw his striking rival Eren Derdiyok depart the BayArena for Hoffenheim, Stefan Kiessling has showcased some of his best form, scoring two goals in his three games in all competitions. The club have indicated that they will not be in the market for a new attacker, and there will be no better way for the Germany international to vindicate their faith in him than by putting in a match-winning performance against the champions on Saturday.
Prediction
To say that Borussia Dortmund have been in unsteady form so far this season would be a huge understatement, but Bayer Leverkusen have hardly been convincing themselves, losing to newly promoted Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday 1. What's more, the return of Mario Gotze will lift the hosts, and I'd expect Jurgen Klopp's side will raise their game and see out their local rivals in a closely contested affair.
Editor's Prediction
Dortmund 2
Leverkusen 1
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Stefan Kießling Stefan Kießling
Striker
Leverkusen 		25 4
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
Striker
Dortmund 		24 1
Alexander Meier Alexander Meier
Midfielder
Eintracht Frankfurt 		17 3
Vedad Ibisevic Vedad Ibisevic
Striker
VfB Stuttgart 		15 5
Mario Mandzukic Mario Mandzukic
Striker
Bayern 		15 0

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