5 Key Remaining Fixtures That Will Define Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga Season
When the Bundesliga finally returns to action on the weekend, one could argue Borussia Dortmund have surprisingly little to play for. At the halfway point of the season, not much can happen to the Black and Yellows.
A title challenge was always unlikely, considering where Dortmund came from at the outset of the season and just how strong Bayern Munich are, and a deficit of eight points seems positively insurmountable—the Bavarians dropped a total of five points in 17 matchdays so far.
No, the target for the season was to "challenge" last season's top four, as head coach Thomas Tuchel said in his introductory press conference in April 2015, per ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld.
Sitting second in the league with an advantage of 11 points over currently fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, that mission is already accomplished. The Ruhr side would have to suffer a breakdown of epic proportions to miss the UEFA Champions League next year.
Still, there's half a season left in the Bundesliga, and there are some can't-miss games on the horizon.
Here, B/R picks five key remaining fixtures for the Black and Yellows, presented in chronological order.
January 23: Borussia Monchengladbach (A)
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The first game of the Ruckrunde, as the second part of the season is called in Germany, could well be one of the most important for the Black and Yellows.
If there's any team that can pip Dortmund for second place, it's Borussia Monchengladbach. The Foals are nine points behind BVB, sitting in fourth place, but they have shown great form under head coach Andre Schubert.
The 44-year-old got the job in September, first on an interim basis after longtime boss Lucien Favre stepped down following five defeats to start the season, then on a permanent basis in November.
Since Schubert took over, only Bayern have won more points than his Gladbach side, per local paper Rheinische Post (link in German).
Dortmund haven't beaten the Foals away from home since October 2010, but a draw would be enough to keep them at a comfortable distance.
February 6: Hertha BSC (A)
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Hertha BSC are the surprise team of the Bundesliga season so far. Many predicted a difficult season for the club from the capital, but the Old Lady checks in at third place at the halfway point of the campaign.
Coached by Hungarian club legend Pal Dardai, Hertha are only six points behind Dortmund.
Most expect them to come back to earth in the Ruckrunde—their style of winning without creating a whole lot on the attack will be hard to sustain, as Dustin Ward noted for StatsBomb—but that doesn't mean a trip to the Olympiastadion won't be a challenge for the Black and Yellows.
February 21: Bayer Leverkusen (A)
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If Hertha are the big overachievers of the season so far, Bayer Leverkusen might just be at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Roger Schmidt's second campaign in charge of the Rhinelanders was supposed to see them make another step in the right direction, but they find themselves lagging behind in the race for a Champions League spot.
Still, Leverkusen look like a team that could get on a roll in the second half of the season, especially if Chicharito keeps scoring like he did toward the end of 2015—per Transfermarkt.co.uk, he scored 10 goals in his last eight Bundesliga games.
Dortmund's 3-0 win over Leverkusen was arguably their most dominant performance of the season so far, but the meeting in February could be much more difficult. It's scheduled between the two round-of-32 ties in the UEFA Europa League, where both Leverkusen and Dortmund have drawn tough opponents from Portugal: Sporting and FC Porto, respectively.
March 5: Bayern Munich (H)
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As stated before, there'll be no title race, but that doesn't mean the game between Dortmund and Bayern isn't the biggest fixture on the calendar in Germany.
The 5-1 loss at the hands of the Bavarian giants was the most crushing blow in Tuchel's first season at the helm of Dortmund, and he'll be longing for vengeance.
The game will serve as the final meeting with Pep Guardiola in the Bundesliga, and Tuchel would love nothing more than to beat the Spaniard with Dortmund.
His admiration for the 45-year-old is no secret, and he told the media earlier in January that he's sad to see him go at the end of the year, per Jan Reinold of Kicker (link in German).
Beating the overpowering Bavarians would also bode well for Dortmund's hopes in the DFB-Pokal, where these two sides seem destined to clash heads once more—if they both survive the quarterfinals in February, that is.
April 9: FC Schalke (A)
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Nothing beats a good local derby, and that's especially true when the rivalry is as heated as the one between Dortmund and FC Schalke.
While it's unlikely to be of real importance in the table—at least for Dortmund, who should have more or less wrapped up a spot in the Champions League by Matchday 29—it's still the most emotional game on the schedule for the millions of supporters of both clubs.
The Black and Yellows' thrilling 3-2 win over the Royal Blues in November is a genuine contender for the game of the season so far, and the return fixture will undoubtedly be another highlight.
Dortmund haven't completed the double over Schalke since the 2011/12 season, and that was the only time Jurgen Klopp managed to do that in his illustrious seven years at the club.
Matching his predecessor in his first year would be a great success for Tuchel.
Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for the Yellow Wall. You can follow him on Twitter.
