The 2022/23 German Bundesliga season kicks off this weekend. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund host Bayer Leverkusen in one of the standout ties of the opening round.
Last season, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen finished second and third, respectively, with five points separating the two sides. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich claimed a tenth straight title.
🫵 Ey, Ihr da! Noch zweimal schlafen!🔜 #BVBB04 #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/L8F6ABG5xP— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) August 4, 2022
🫵 Ey, Ihr da! Noch zweimal schlafen!🔜 #BVBB04 #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/L8F6ABG5xP
Can the chasing pack close the gap to Bayern this term? If they are serious about ending the Bavarians’ hegemony, they will need to get off to a strong start on Saturday.
Let’s begin by looking at the hosts, Borussia Dortmund, who registered 22 wins, three draws and nine losses last season.
No team recorded fewer draws than Dortmund during the previous campaign, but both Bayern and Leverkusen suffered fewer defeats.
Thanks to last week’s 3-0 victory over 1860 Munich if the first round of the DFB-Pokal, Dortmund head into Saturday’s clash on a three-game winning streak across all competitions.
It is also worth noting that BVB have score at least one goal in each of their previous 34 outings, meaning they shouldn’t struggle to find the back of the net this weekend.
On the flip side, Bayer Leverkusen recorded 19 wins, seven draws and eight losses last season. Despite suffering fewer defeats than Dortmund, they claimed four more draws.
Leverkusen ended the previous campaign on a high note, winning each of their final four Bundesliga clashes. They also scored ten goals during that period.
Better still, Leverkusen have only lost one of their past eight away games in the Bundesliga – underlining their strength on the road.
It is worth pointing out, however, that Leverkusen suffered a shock 4-3 loss to SV Elversberg in the DFP-Pokal last weekend.
Head-to-head: Dortmund have won 43% of the past 44 Bundesliga meetings between the teams, while Leverkusen have won 34%.
Since nine of the previous 11 meetings have produced over 3.5 goals, Saturday’s clash is destined to be a high-scoring encounter.
Team news: Borussia Dortmund will start the season without new striker Sebastien Haller as he continues to recover from an operation.
As for Leverkusen, they will be without the injured trio of Florian Wirtz, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Amine Adil for Saturday’s clash.
If the recent meetings between Dortmund and Leverkusen are anything to go by, we are set for an eventful encounter this weekend.
Forebet predicts that Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen will combine for over 3.5 goals, with the hosts coming out on top.