Borussia Dortmund vs. 1.FC Köln preview: A friendship to be put aside on Saturday | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund slipped to a first Bundesliga and competitive defeat of the season against Bayern Munich last weekend. However, they returned to winning ways with a 4-2 win in Copenhagen on Tuesday to restore confidence. 

Head coach Niko Kovač confessed his team took "too many touches on the ball" in the Danish capital before getting "second wind" after Ramy Bensebaini's penalty. Once again, Kovač is still searching for the perfect performance.

Interestingly, the 54-year-old boss saw fit to rotate fairly heavily again. The likes of Karim Adeyemi didn't play a single minute, while Yan Couto, Jobe Bellingham and Julian Brandt were afforded rare starts.

BVB and 1.FC Köln are known to share a mutual friendship amongst their fans, but expect sparks to fly on Saturday evening. Dortmund need to have their wits about them against a cunning opponent in good form.

Team news:

Dortmund's injury list is short with Julien Duranville (shoulder) and Emre Can (adductor) the only long-term absentees. There is some concern over Serhou Guirassy and a niggling thigh issues for weeks. 

Gregor Kobel remains in goals behind a back-three of Anton, Schlotterbeck and Bensebaini. Julian Ryerson ought to partner Sabitzer, Nmecha and Svensson in midfield supporting an attack of Adeyemi, Beier and a rare start for Fábio Silva. 

Predicted lineup: Kobel - Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini - Ryerson, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson - Adeyemi, Beier - Silva

1.FC Köln

Köln have taken to life in the Bundesliga with hunger, aggression and relative grace thus far. Typically, promoted teams tend to struggle but the Cathedral City club are soaring high at the minute. 

With only two defeats to VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig - teams with considerably stronger squads - Effzeh are perfectly on course for survival having claimed points against Mainz, Freiburg, Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim and Augsburg.

Harmony within the Köln squad continues to play an influential role. When players like Marius Bülter were sidelined, the likes of young Said El Mala stepped up - another factor that could alter Saturday's outcome.

Driven forward by coach Lukas Kwasniok, there's no doubting Köln will be fearless charging into battle at the Westfalenstadion. Dreams of repeating their 2-1 win over BVB in November 2020 will act as the perfect motivation. 

Team news

Köln also have a relatively good bill of health in terms of squad availability. Only a trio of absentees persist in Luca Kilian (cruciate), Jan Thielmann (thigh) and Rav van den Berg (shoulder) who won't feature. 

Marvin Schwäbe in goals will be defended by Schmeid, Hübers and Krauß. Seboulonsen and Lund take up wing-back roles either side of Johannesson and Martel. Up top, Said El Mala and Kaminski will support Marius Bülter. 

Predicted lineup: Schwäbe - Schmeid, Hübers, Krauß - Seboulonsen, Johannesson, Martel, Lund - El Mala, Kaminski - Bülter