Borussia Dortmund vs. Wolfsberger: Team News, Form and Preview

Borussia Dortmund will get back to serious business this week when Austrian side Wolfsberger AC travel to the Westfalenstadion for the second leg of their Europa League qualification tie. 

Although the German side were widely expected to win the first leg rather comfortably in Austria, Thomas Tuchel's side faltered after an impressive 45 minutes. Fortunately, by that point Dortmund already had their solitary away goal—a smart move finished off by Jonas Hofmann in the 14th minute—and were content with leaving with a slight advantage. 

The real test now comes at home in front of their own fans, where Tuchel will, for the first time, be expected to win handsomely with his newly acquired side. This team have been put through their paces against a whole host of opponents over the summer months, yet much of that will mean nothing if Dortmund can't overcome their Austrian opponents on Thursday night and progress in the European competition. 

Date: Thursday, August 6

Time: 8:30 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. BST, 2:30 p.m. EDT

Venue: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany

TV Info: Not available (UK), Not available (U.S.)

Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

Form

Dortmund	Wolfsberger
Bochum - Loss	Kottmannsdorf - Win
Luzern - Win	Shakhtyor - Win
Juventus - Win	Austria Wien - Loss
Wolfsberger - Win	Dortmund - Loss
Betis - Win	Ried - Draw

Predicted Lineup

We can probably expect to see much of the same from Tuchel's side as we did in the first leg against their Austrian opponents, as Dortmund will look to play a simple 4-2-3-1. 

Erik Durm and Neven Subotic are doubts for Thursday's game(per Dortmund's report) as they continue to train separately from the rest of the squad, meaning Lukasz Piszczek should take up the right-back role with Marcel Schmelzer on the left. Mats Hummels and Sokratis Papastathopoulos will most likely be the chosen central defensive pairing. 

Oliver Kirch is the only injured midfielder, meaning Julian Weigl and Ilkay Gundogan should play alongside one another in the middle of the pitch while a front three of Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jonas Hofmann play off Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

Didi Kuhbauer will most likely set up his side in the same 4-1-4-1 formation from the opening tie, with a back-line of Michael Berger, Michael Sollbauer, Boris Huttenbrenner and Stephan Palla, in front of a flat five in midfield of Thomas Zundel, Manuel Seidl, Roland Putsche, Joachim Standfest and Christopher Wernitzing. 

The Brazilian Silvio will most likely keep his spot up front. 

Key Players

Marco Reus

Although Reus is often cited as Dortmund's key node of inspiration in such games, the form that he has shown in pre-season under Tuchel suggests he's desperate to get off to a flier on Thursday. 

Dortmund have played better sides than Wolfsberger this summer, and Reus has shown that the stage, pressure and opposition rarely add up to much when he has the eye for goal. 

Manuel Seidl

Wolfsberger's Brazilian forward may be the key man on most tipsters' team sheets, yet when it came down to it in the opening tie, it was in fact the Austrian side's midfield, and specifically Seidl, who caused the most trouble for Dortmund. 

The box-to-box midfielder isn't afraid of getting stuck in, and if he can ruffle Gundogan or Weigl's feathers early on, then he may be a threat to the Westfalenstadion side.