Matchday in focus: Attack-minded Dortmund | OneFootball

Dortmund and Frankfurt will each have virtually full squads to pick from, with plenty of familiar faces on both sides. Borussia, meanwhile, have enjoyed good starts in recent years.

Tactics

Nuri Sahin, who moved up from assistant to head coach over the summer, worked on a 4-2-3-1 formation during pre-season and tried it out in the team’s final friendly against Aston Villa. New signing Yan Couto played on the right while Nico Schlotterbeck slotted in at left-back.

That formation was then changed to a 3-4-3 for the 4-1 DFB Cup win over 1. FC Phönix Lübeck, with Karim Adeyemi playing up front. Eintracht head coach Dino Toppmöller is expecting BVB to “focus on possession and dominating play”.

Absentees

Dortmund will have to do without recent acquisition Serhou Guirassy,  who is out with a torn ligament.  Toppmöller has a full complement to choose from, although Krisztián Lisztes has been ill and will be a late decision. Noah Fenyö is also set to feature for the U21s against FC 08 Homburg on Friday night.

One to watch: Nico Schlotterbeck

Schlotterbeck joined Dortmund in summer 2022 and has established himself as a consistent performer in defence. His 2023/24 season saw him make 33 appearances in the Bundesliga, another 11 in the UEFA Champions League and three more in the DFB Cup.

New coach Sahin looks likely to continue to count on Schlotterbeck as well as the likes of Gregor Kobel, Waldemar Anton and Julian Ryerson as the team’s lynchpins. The defender also made two appearances for Germany at the recent 2024 European Championship.

Facts and figures Dortmund have recorded more Bundesliga wins over Eintracht than against any other club. In the six clashes to date between the two teams since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, BVB have picked up 16 of a possible 18 points.  Dortmund have kicked off their last nine Bundesliga campaigns with a win, which is the longest current streak in the league. The last time that the Black-and-Yellows failed to win their opener was in the 2014/15 season, when they went down 2-0 to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.