FK Krasnodar vs. Borussia Dortmund: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Borussia Dortmund travel to southern Russia for Matchday 5 of the UEFA Europa League group stage on Thursday as they prepare to face FK Krasnodar.
It's the meeting between first and second in Group C, where Dortmund have already clinched a berth in the round of 32. Thursday's hosts are three points behind the Black and Yellows but four ahead of third-placed PAOK Salonika.
In the first game between the two sides, Dortmund came out on top in the Signal Iduna Park, 2-1. The Russians went in front through Pavel Mamaev after just 12 minutes and held that lead until extra time of the first half, when Matthias Ginter scored from a Park Joo-ho cross. Dortmund's full-backs combined for the late winner, scored in extra time, too, as Park nodded an assist from Ginter home.
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The hosts saw an unbeaten run of 11 games come to an end on the last matchday of the Russian Premier League, where they lost to Spartak Moscow, 2-3. They did beat league leaders CSKA Moscow at home on the last matchday before the November international break, so Dortmund are warned.
The Black and Yellows had a streak snapped on the weekend as well, as their 1-3 defeat at the hands of Hamburger SV put an end to a run of seven victories across all competitions.
A draw against Krasnodar would be enough for BVB to win the group, while the hosts would clinch a spot in the next round with a win. Considering Krasnodar play overmatched and fourth-placed FK Qabala on the last matchday, a draw with Dortmund wouldn't be too bad for them either.
Date: Thursday, November 26
Time: 4 p.m. GMT / 11 a.m. ET / 7 p.m. local time
Venue: Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar
TV Info: FS1 (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport Digital Exclusive (U.K. only) / Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S. only)
Form Guide
| Krasnodar | Dortmund |
| Makhachkala: Win (3-1) | Paderborn: Win (7-1) |
| Samara: Win (4-0) | Bremen: Win (3-1) |
| PAOK: Win (2-1) | Qabala: Win (4-0) |
| CSKA: Win (2-1) | Schalke: Win (3-2) |
| Spartak: Loss (3-2) | Hamburg: Loss (1-3) |
Predicted Lineups
Krasnodar
Dykan; Kaleshin, Granqvist, Strandberg, Petrov; Akhmedov, Torbinski, Kabore; Mamaev, Ari, Smolov
Head coach Oleg Kononov usually picks a rather attacking XI, typically in a 4-3-3. Brazilian striker Ari only came on late in the first meeting with Dortmund, where Krasnodar played without an out-and-out No. 9. This being a home match for the Russians, expect Ari to feature from the start.
Dortmund
Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer; Gundogan, Weigl, Castro; Januzaj, Ramos, Mkhitaryan
Head coach Thomas Tuchel decided to rest regular starters Shinji Kagawa, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as all three didn't make the trip to Russia, according to the club's homepage (in German). Gonzalo Castro has developed into the first alternative in midfield and will probably take Kagawa's spot, while Colombia international Adrian Ramos should replace Aubameyang as the lone striker.
Reus' spot in the starting XI is up for grabs, with Manchester United loanee Adnan Januzaj and Jonas Hofmann the two obvious options. Since Hofmann struggled to even make the 18-men squad in recent games, Januzaj would appear to be in pole position.
Sven Bender is an option to start for either one of the centre-backs or Julian Weigl in defensive midfield, while Lukasz Piszczek could be preferred to Ginter at right-back.
Players to Watch
Mamaev is his side's best goalscorer, with 11 goals in 24 games across all competitions. In the Europa League, the 27-year-old scored the opener in the defeat at Dortmund and also assisted Wanderson's 1-0 against Qabala.
The Russia international usually plays on the left side of the three-headed attack but, as his numbers show, gets himself into dangerous positions time and time again. For the goal against Thursday's visitors, Mamaev and Fedor Smolov switched positions. Smolov made light work of beating Ginter with a simple trick, and Mamaev didn't have to do too much to beat Roman Weidenfeller from close range.
As for Dortmund, there will be a special focus on captain Mats Hummels—if he isn't rested on the bench—because of his lack of form in recent weeks. The skipper lashed out at his critics on Twitter (in German) this week, claiming the criticism of him is excessive: "Unbelievable what you have to put up with. Blown out of proportion with reality" (via ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld).
We wondered if Tuchel should consider benching Hummels because of his poor performances in recent games, so a solid, mistake-free outing at Krasnodar would be the best way to silence his critics.
Key Battle: Krasnodar's Fluid Attack vs. Dortmund's Defence
Dortmund's defence will be on the spot in this contest. In the loss at Hamburg, the Black and Yellows failed to overcome their well-documented struggles in the defensive third for only the second time this season. Without Aubameyang, Kagawa and Reus—three of their most important players going forward—Dortmund need a solid performance in defence on Thursday, as they might struggle to create goalscoring opportunities themselves.
Krasnodar, meanwhile, impressed in the first meeting with Dortmund, showing great comfort in possession, calmness in buildup and very fluid movement in the final third. Smolov, Ari and Mamaev will present a big challenge to Dortmund's defenders.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Krasnodar: 7/2
Draw: 14/5
Dortmund: 13/18
Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
