Match Overview

After the heavy 5-1 defeat against Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund seems sufficiently motivated to bounce back as they face Bochum in the Bundesliga round 5. Overall, Dortmund under head coach Edin Terzić have done well this season, and there is no reason why they would struggle against Bochum on Sunday. The situation with the opposition is less encouraging as they drew only one point out of their first four matches. In this context, Dortmund will certainly win, as they did all the previous five times they played against Bochum.

Match Details

• Date: 28th September 2024
• Kickoff Time: 00:30
• Venue: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund

Pitch Report

The Signal Iduna Park pitch offers a great surface, favouring an attacking style of play. This being a home fixture, the hosts will receive a great deal of support from the stands. Dortmund are also good at hitting their opponents on the break. Bochum may have to adapt quickly to this frenetic environment.

Points Table

Team A Analysis: Borussia Dortmund

• Key Player: Julian Brandt (Attacking Midfielder/Winger)
• Probable Playing XI: Gregor Kobel, Mats Hummels, Nico Schlotterbeck, Julian Ryerson, Felix Nmecha, Emre Can, Marco Reus, Donyell Malen, Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi, Serhou Guirassy (fit again and expected to start).

Team B Analysis: Bochum

• Key Player: Takuma Asano (Forward)
• Probable Playing XI: Manuel Riemann, Erhan Masovic, Ivan Ordets (injured), Danilo Soares, Kevin Stöger, Philipp Förster, Moritz Broschinski, Takuma Asano, Patrick Osterhage, Keven Schlotterbeck, Anthony Losilla.

Dream11 Pick

• Captain: Julian Brandt
• Vice-Captain: Serhou Guirassy
• Other Key Picks: Donyell Malen, Takuma Asano, Felix Nmecha

Public Opinion

Looking at the public opinion for this match, the average score for Dortmund supporters is on the rise, suggesting that they see their team winning a home fixture by a big margin. On the other hand, the average score for Bochum supporters is dipping, which suggests they are well aware of the might they will encounter and are not expecting a significant upset.

SWOT Analysis

Borussia Dortmund:

• Strengths: A strong depth of the roster, the attacking line is represented by talented players such as Brandt, and Malen, and Can that provides control on the midfield. The team plays at its home stadium, and such conditions increase the home team’s advantages.
• Weaknesses: The team’s play is characterized by weak defence, which leads to the allowance of a considerable number of goals. Moreover, this weakness is evident in a recent game against Stuttgart, where the club lost with a score of 5:1.
• Opportunities: The performance between the two conditions, taking too much risk, or not to be ready for playing against Bochum, can be transformed into an opportunity. In the case of playing well and not underestimating the opponent, BVB will be able to achieve a high winning result.
• Threats: The failure of the main defensive player Mats Hummels, on whose performance the team’s play relies heavily, as well as playing to overconfidence at the initial stage of the match, can be considered to be transformed into threats to the home team.

Bochum:

• Strengths: Despite the poor form that has been met by Bochum, they have some attackers who can string a shocking combination. The alarming form should not be a concern in a game of this magnitude.
• Weaknesses: The injuries of Koji Miyoshi, Bernardo, and Ivan Ordets among other high-rated players mean that Bochum is going to have difficulties stopping a series of Dortmund attacks that have become common this season.
• Opportunities: The conditional debts that have been met by Dortmund this season mean that defensively weak opponents such as Bochum have opportunities to launch every attack and counter-attack that can be realized by Horidi. Set-pieces are also a provisional lifeline that can be deployed by Bochum to give them a fighting chance.
• Threats: The strong Dortmund attack and the fact that they will be playing in front of their screaming and cheer-lending fans means that they will overwhelm Bochum and embarrass them with a 3-0 Premier League victory. Chances are that the 1st tier side will be torn apart in the second half following a record of poor performance in the last 45 minutes.

Prediction

Given that the match will take place at Signal Iduna Park where Borussia Dortmund have been very strong, and Bochum’s poor form in the early season, it is predicted a confident victory for Dortmund. A 3-0 scoreline is entirely possible.