Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 22 of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season on Sunday.
It's a meeting of teams on a good run of form: Both sides have lost only two of their last 14 matches across all competitions, and both are coming off impressive wins in the UEFA Europa League in midweek.
The hosts won 1-0 at Sporting Lisbon, while the Black and Yellows beat FC Porto 2-0 at home.
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The Werkself, as fans call Leverkusen, have worked their way up the Bundesliga standings after a mediocre start to the season, they now sit in third place and have direct qualification to next year's UEFA Champions League in sight.
They held Bayern Munich to a goalless draw earlier in February at the BayArena and overall have only conceded twice in the four league games of the second half of the season.
Dortmund, of course, have conceded only one league goal in that span of time, and their defence looks the part since the turn of the year.
Conversely, their attack has stuttered a bit—especially in the league—although the results don't show it, seeing as they've won three of their four games.
With a 13-point advantage over Leverkusen in the Bundesliga table, not much can happen to Dortmund even if they lose the direct matchup. Still, they'll want to keep their momentum going into the return leg against Porto.
Sunday's visitors won the first meeting of the season in very impressive fashion, beating the Werkself 3-0 in September. History is on Dortmund's side as well, as they haven't lost at Leverkusen since May 2007.
Date: Sunday, February 21
Time: 2.30 p.m. GMT/9.30 a.m. ET/3.30 p.m. local time
Venue: BayArena, Leverkusen
TV Info: BT Sport Europe (UK only)/Fox Soccer Plus (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport live streaming (UK only)/Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S. only)
Form Guide
| Leverkusen | Dortmund |
| Hannover: Win (3-0) | Ingolstadt: Win (2-0) |
| Bayern: Draw (0-0) | Hertha: Draw (0-0) |
| Bremen: Loss (1-3) | Stuttgart: Win (3-1) |
| Darmstadt: Win (2-1) | Hannover: Win (1-0) |
| Sporting: Win (1-0) | Porto: Win (2-0) |
Predicted Lineups
Leverkusen
The big question is whether Chicharito will be fit to play, although he'd likely only make the bench after suffering a muscle injury in the DFB-Pokal loss against Werder Bremen earlier this month.
Kevin Kampl's availability is questionable as well, as the midfielder has to overcome tonsillitis. Hakan Calhanoglu would likely play in his stead in central midfield.
Other than those two, head coach Roger Schmidt's team looks pretty set, although a little rotation is always on the cards after a tough Europa League match.
Predicted starting XI: Leno; Jedvaj, Tah, Toprak, Wendell; Kramer, Kampl; Bellarabi, Brandt, Mehmedi; Kiessling.
Dortmund
Head coach Thomas Tuchel is more likely to make changes than his counterpart, seeing as Dortmund have little to play for in the league. It's unlikely that Nuri Sahin will start again after returning from a 355-day-long injury absence against Porto.
Moritz Leitner looked good after replacing the Turkey international on Thursday and could get his first start of the season. Ilkay Gundogan still hasn't recovered from an illness and will likely miss Sunday's game as well.
Marco Reus survived an injury scare after a brutal foul from Silvestre Varela in midweek, but he seemed to hobble a bit after the game. In any case, it might be a good idea to give him a bit of rest. Erik Durm played well on the left wing in the cup against Stuttgart and could play there again, while former Leverkusen player Gonzalo Castro would love to get a chance as well.
Predicted starting XI: Burki; Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer; Leitner, Weigl, Kagawa; Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Durm.
Players to Watch
If Kampl is fit to play, he's an obvious candidate for a player to watch. The Slovenian had a forgettable six-month spell at Dortmund last season and looks like a completely different player for the Werkself.
The midfielder attributes his strong performances this season to his head coach, telling Frank Lussem of sport magazine Kicker during the week that nothing is more important to a player than the trust of his coach (link in German).
Kampl plays a more central and defensive role for Leverkusen than he did under Jurgen Klopp at Dortmund, and he thrives playing under Roger Schmidt, who already coached him at RB Salzburg. Kicker grade him as Leverkusen's best player this season (link in German).
As for Dortmund, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is in fine form. The Armenian has "been involved in exactly 42 per cent of BVB's 96 goals in the current campaign," as the club's official website pointed out after the Porto match.
He, Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang form one of Europe's deadliest attacking tridents, per ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld: "Borussia Dortmund's attacking trio has clocked up 100 goal contributions in all competitions after just 36 matches."
With Reus possibly getting rested and Aubameyang running a bit hot and cold in 2016, the 27-year-old will have to provide the spark against Leverkusen's stingy defence.
Key Battle
Jonathan Tah vs. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Twenty-year-old centre-back Jonathan Tah is one of the biggest revelations of the season so far. Incredibly, he hasn't missed a single second in any of Leverkusen's 34 matches across competitions—in his first year at the club.
The Germany under-21 international has been likened to Jerome Boateng recently. B/R's Clark Whitney compared the two earlier in February:
"It's easy to see how Tah is comparable to Boateng. Both players spent their early years at Hamburg and have similar skill sets. Despite his youth, according to Transfermarkt, Tah, at 1.94 meters, is actually two centimeters taller than Boateng; he is built like a tank, and his physical strength and aerial prowess are obvious assets.
Yet like Boateng, Tah is more than just an athlete. He has a good touch, he is not shy to get involved in the passing game and is impressively two-footed.
"
He and Omer Toprak form one of the best partnerships in central defence German football has to offer, and it will be fascinating to watch the matchup with Aubameyang.
The Gabonese's quickness is a lot to handle for any defender and will be a good test for Tah, who aspires to be included in Germany's squad for the Euros in France this summer.
Aubameyang hasn't found his groove in 2016 despite scoring three goals in five matches. He was cut off from Dortmund's attacking play for much of Thursday's Europa League game, after missing the contest against Hannover with a slight knock.
He'll look to get back on track against Leverkusen but will have to bring his A-game.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Leverkusen: 7-4
Draw: 11-4
Dortmund: 13-10
Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
