Sport
INTERESTING; Borussia Dortmund winning ways on Friday evening
Borussia Dortmund will look to return to winning ways on Friday evening as they go up against newly promoted side FC St. Pauli in the Bundesliga.
The international break is over and the Bundesliga will make its return on Friday with a mouth-watering contest between Borussia Dortmund and FC St. Pauli set to get things underway. Two clubs with an ardent following will lock horns at the Westfalenstadion, and both will be desperate for the three points on Friday.
The Black and Yellows have won all their games at home so far, but their away form has left a lot to be desired. Defeat to Union Berlin before the interantional break left Borussia Dortmund four points shy of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. And they will be determined to get momentum back on side with a comfortable win over St. Pauli.
Nuri Sahin’s side will again be without Karim Adeyemi, Julien Duranville, and Gio Reyna. Yan Couto is also sidelined with an injury, while Julian Ryerson has been dealing with a flu, and Niklas Süle is recovering from a stomach bug. It will be interesting to see if Sahin makes big changes to the side that was beaten in Berlin two weeks ago.
St. Pauli have won just one of their opening six games in the Bundesliga, but did manage to hold RB Leipzig to a goalless draw last month. They also defeated Borussia Dortmund the last time these two sides met – in the DFB-Pokal in 2022.
Scoring goals has been an area of concern for St. Pauli this season as they have found the net on just four occasions so far in the Bundesliga. Last season’s 2. Bundesliga winners have shown some defensive resilience, and will hope to frustrate Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
St. Pauli have a fair few injury concerns of their own, with key attacking player Elias Saad among those sidelined. Johannes Eggestein will have a crucial role to play in attack for St. Pauli on Friday, and winger Oladapo Afolayan could also pose a threat to the BVB defence.
Borussia Dortmund vs FC St. Pauli: Expected Lineups
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Bensebaini – Can, Groß – Gittens, Brandt, Malen – Guirassy
St. Pauli: Vasilj – Saliakas, Wahl, Smith, Mets, Irvine – Wagner, Treu – Afolayan, Eggestein, Guilavogui
