Borussia Dortmund vs. Hamburg: Key Issues That Will Shape Bundesliga Game

Borussia Dortmund return to Bundesliga action this weekend with a tricky home tie against bottom of the table Hamburg on Saturday afternoon. 

Although the old Dinosaur may look like the most toothless opponent in Germany at the moment, there are plenty of recent examples to suggest that this club enjoy nothing more than getting in Jurgen Klopp's way throughout the season. 

New manager Josef Zinnbauer has yet to pick up a win since taking over last month, yet Hamburg are always capable of the biggest upsets across the league from one week to the next. 

Here are the key issues ahead of this unpredictable match. 

Dortmund's Post-Champions League Form

Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Associated Press

With a weakened squad in an ever-demanding list of fixtures across the modern football season, Klopp's committed side have always struggled to balance Champions League and Bundesliga commitments over a three or five-day period. 

The club's record in matches directly after grueling European ties is simply appalling, with the recent 2-0 defeat away to Mainz offering the latest example of such failings. 

For Dortmund, this weekend's tie against a winless Hamburg offers the perfect opportunity to finally overcome such a record and get that monkey off their back. 

Hamburg's Winless Bundesliga Record

Markus Schreiber/Associated Press

As already noted, Hamburg may pose a significant threat to Dortmund on Saturday but not one that we've seen from the northern club as of yet this season. 

Mirko Slomka was unfortunate to lose his job so early in the league campaign but few fans will sympathise with the coach who managed to pick up just one point from his first three games as well as losing to promoted Paderborn at the Imtech Arena.

Form tends to go out the window in such clashes between Bundesliga giants, but the performances shown from this side under Slomka and now new coach Zinnbauer suggests their first win is still a while off. 

Klopp Desperate for More Clean Sheets

Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Associated Press

To find the last time Dortmund managed to pick up two consecutive clean sheets in competitive matches, we'd have to go as far back as April of this year when they surprisingly overcame Real Madrid 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and then beat Bayern Munich in the league 3-0 that following Saturday. 

As impressive as that was, Klopp's team have really struggled to keep things together at the back this season and as fans know so well; it has begun to eat into the performances and results from one fixture to the next. 

Dortmund's centre-back pairing of Neven Subotic and Sokratis Papastathopoulos did well to keep Anderlecht at bay on Wednesday night and if they can put up a similar performance against Hamburg this weekend then the boost to morale could be a real game-changer in this bumpy start to the season. 

Hamburg's Record Against Dortmund

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As we've already discussed, Hamburg have looked anything but threatening this season. On the face of it, this fixture—even with Dortmund's current form—should really be a breeze for the home side. 

Yet as fans of the black and yellows know so well, Hamburg have a tendency to crash the party whenever they come up against Dortmund. 

Although Klopp's side romped to a fantastic 6-2 win at the Westfalenstadion in this fixture last season, it was the first and only Dortmund win in the last four showdowns between these two sides.

In fact, we'd have to go back to the 2011/12 season to find the last campaign that Hamburg didn't take points from the former Bundesliga champions in the league. Then before that another 10 years since it happened again. 

Whatever chaotic situation Hamburg may find themselves in, they always seem to have time to bother Dortmund. 

Dortmund Need to Get Back to Winning Ways in Bundesliga

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

We've talked about old rivalries, winless records and Dortmund's appalling clean sheet stats but the most important issue ahead of Saturday's game is making sure Klopp's side pick up all three points. 

Germany's second biggest club have only picked up two wins from six so far this season, with one loss and two draws rounding up their last three games in the league.

Klopp will be encouraged by the leading role Shinji Kagawa played in the win over Anderlecht on Wednesday. The Japanese international was at the heart of most of Dortmund's chances and goals and will be big player for the club while they await the return of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus. 

The playmaker will undoubtedly be at the heart of any effort to overcome Hamburg on Saturday. A match Dortmund truly must win if they have any hope of keeping their title challenge alive.