Hamburg vs. Borussia Dortmund: Team News, Preview, Live Stream & TV Info

Borussia Dortmund will be in high hopes of continuing their march up the table when they travel north to face Hamburg on Saturday afternoon.

The ever-present Bundesliga side—famous for never being relegated from the Bundesliga—are in fact flirting with such a possibility after a string of disappointing performances in the league and will be struggling to remain optimistic when Jurgen Klopp's high-flying side come to town. 

A one-sided match is what many will predict for this encounter, but as ever, the German top division has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works from time to time. 

Date: Saturday, March 7

Time: 2:30 p.m. CET/3:30 p.m. GMT/9:30 a.m. ET

Venue: Imtech Arena, Hamburg, Germany

Television: Not available (USA), not available (UK)

Streaming: Not available (USA), not available (UK)

Form

Hamburg	Dortmund
Frankfurt—loss	Dresden—won
Gladbach—draw	Schalke—won
Bayern—loss	Juventus—loss
Hannover—win	Stuttgart—won
Paderborn—win	Mainz—won

Predicted lineups

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

With Marco Reus most likely still out with a minor injury, we should see Henrikh Mkhitaryan come in and take up that familiar role on the left side of attack. On the right we should welcome the return of Jakub Blaszczykowski as he continues his recuperation, with Shinji Kagawa through the middle and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front.

Nuri Sahin is also a doubt for the game so Sven Bender should return alongside Ilkay Gundogan, in front of a back line consisting of Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Julian Kirch. 

Hamburg have their own troubles to deal with, as Matthias Ostrzolek serves his ban for a red card in a previous match along with injuries to Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Ivica Olic. 

This means we should see Artjoms Rudnevs up front with Mohamed Gouaida, Zoltan Stieber and Nicolai Muller behind him and Petr Jiracek and Gojko Kacar in the centre of midfield.

In defence, we should see Marcel Jansen return to his usual left-back role, while Dennis Diekmeier plays on the right alongside Johan Djourou and Cleber in the centre. 

Players to watch

Shinji Kagawa

Although there may be more prominent, attacking members of this squad, Kagawa has come into this team following the winter break and added the Midas touch to everything that has gone right for Dortmund of late. 

The attacking midfielder has begun looking like his old self between defensive lines, and should Reus not start on Saturday, he'll be asked to take up the role of playmaker-in-chief.

Cleber

It may seem somewhat obvious to consider a defensive player for highlighting ahead of the visit of Dortmund, but almost all of Hamburg's success this season has been built off their defensive record and specifically the performances of this young Brazilian defender.

The club from the old port city may not be expecting much from Saturday's game, but should Cleber perform to the best of his abilities, we may well see a complete shutout of any Dortmund hope. 

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Key Battles

Johan Djourou vs. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

There's really only one route to goal for Dortmund these days: the pacy, in-form Aubameyang. So, as such, Hamburg will have to make sure they have the right plan in order to deal with a striker who has scored five goals in his last five games.

Enter Djourou, a defender of equal pace and skill who has thrown off the shackles of incompetence and inconsistency this season and begun defining himself with the potential he always showed as a young player at Arsenal.

Nicolai Muller vs. Marcel Schmelzer

Hamburg will undoubtedly get very little chance to attack in Saturday's match, but when they do, almost every move is expected to flow through Muller on the right-hand side of attack.

According to Whoscored, the German midfielder has contributed three assists in his last five games, and against the likes of Schmelzer, he'll undoubtedly fancy his chances to add to that on the day. 

Odds (Per Oddschecker)

Hamburg 11/2

Draw 10/3

Dortmund 4/7