Three days on from their Champions League semi-final first-leg victory in midweek, Borussia Dortmund return to Westfalenstadion to welcome Augsburg for a Bundesliga clash on Saturday afternoon.
Neither side could be separated in the reverse fixture five months ago when they played out a 1-1 draw at WWK Arena.
Match preview
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Borussia Dortmund are just 90 minutes away from reaching their first Champions League final since 2012-13 after claiming a slender 1-0 home win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Wednesday.
Niclas Fullkrug scored the only goal of the game - his 16th of the season and third in as many home games - to give BVB a "narrow but deserved victory" according to head coach Edin Terzic ahead of next week's second leg in France.
Dortmund's win also confirmed that Germany have earned an extra berth in the newly-formed Champions League, meaning the top-five teams in the Bundesliga will qualify for next season's tournament.
The news comes as a huge boost for BVB, who currently sit fifth in the table and five points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig with only three Bundesliga games remaining. A run of just two wins in their last five league matches led to Dortmund slipping out of the top four, but the pressure is now off Terzic's side heading into fixtures with Augsburg, Mainz 05 and SV Darmstadt 98.
Dortmund will still be keen to end the campaign on a high and should be confident of success on Saturday, as they have won each of their last five home league meetings with Augsburg, scoring 18 goals in the process.
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After finishing 15th and just one point above the bottom three last season, Augsburg have since made significant improvements this term and are in the mix to secure European football for the 2024-25 campaign.
However, Die Fuggerstadter have suffered a major setback in their pursuit of a top-six finish after losing their last two Bundesliga games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen, suffering a surprise 3-0 home defeat to the latter last weekend.
Jess Thorup's men remain eighth in the table, but they now sit five points behind sixth-placed Frankfurt and missed the chance to close the gap to the Eagles, who also lost last time out against Bayern Munich. Eighth place will only become a Europa Conference League qualification spot if Dortmund go one to win the Champions League and Bayer Leverkusen win the DFB-Pokal.
Augsburg are now tasked with ending the campaign with three challenging fixtures against Dortmund, Stuttgart and champions Leverkusen, three teams that they have already failed to beat this season, so they must be on top of their game if they wish to keep their slim European hopes alive.
Die Fuggerstadter's away form leaves little to be desired ahead of Saturday's trip to Westfalenstadion as they have won only four of their 15 Bundesliga matches on the road this term, while they have not beaten Dortmund away from home since February 2015 when they secured a narrow 1-0 victory.
Team News
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Borussia Dortmund's only two injury concerns are with Ramy Bensebaini and Julien Duranville, who remain sidelined with respective knee and muscle problems.
With one eye on next week's Champions League semi-final trip to Paris, Terzic is expected to freshen up his starting lineup against Augsburg, with the likes of Marius Wolf, Felix Nmecha, Salih Ozcan, Marco Reus and Youssoufa Moukoko all pushing for a recall.
Sebastien Haller and Donyell Malen were both fit to make the substitutes' bench in midweek after recovering from respective ankle and thigh injuries, and the attacking duo will be looking to build up their match fitness on Saturday.
As for Augsburg, Raphael Framberger, Robert Gumny (both knee), Elvis Rexhbecaj (ankle), Fredrik Jensen (calf) and Reece Oxford (illness) all remain in the treatment room, while Iago is doubtful with a foot problem.
Kristijan Jakic is ruled out through suspension after picking up his fifth yellow cards of the season, so either Tim Breithaupt or Niklas Dorsch, who recently recovered from a foot injury, is set to start in midfield alongside Arne Engels and Arne Maier.
Captain Ermedin Demirovic is one of only five Bundesliga players that have reached the 15-goal mark this season and the Bosnian is expected to lead the line alongside Phillip Tietz, who has eight goals to his name this term.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Nmecha, Ozcan; Sancho, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens; Moukoko
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen; Engels, Breithaupt, Maier; Vargas; Tietz, Demirovic
We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Augsburg
Now that Dortmund are guaranteed a Champions League spot for next season, Augsburg will hope that the hosts will take their foot off the gas on the domestic front as they endeavour to boost their own European hopes heading down the home straight.
However, even if Terzic does decide to rotate his side, we believe that the BVB boss will still field a strong enough team to claim all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
