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Dortmund logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 34
May 22, 2021 at 2.30pm UK
Signal Iduna Park
Leverkusen logo

Dortmund
3 - 1
B. Leverkusen

Braut Haaland (5', 84'), Reus (51')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Bender (89' pen.)

Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Bundesliga clash between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Borussia Dortmund take on Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with neither side having much at stake.

Dortmund secured Champions League football after beating Mainz 05 last weekend, while Leverkusen are assured of competing in the Europa League next season.


Match preview

Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic on May 16, 2021.© Reuters

It has been quite the turnaround in recent weeks for Dortmund, whose top-four aspirations looked dead and buried after losing at home to Champions League qualification rivals Eintracht Frankfurt on April 3.

However, six successive league wins has seen BVB climb into third place in the table heading into the final day, with their place in Europe's elite competition already secured after Frankfurt suffered a shock 4-3 defeat at already-relegated Schalke 04 last weekend.

Beating RB Leipzig to win the DFB-Pokal for the fifth time in the club's history has also helped ensure Edin Terzic will step down from his position as interim manager on a real high ahead of Marco Rose replacing him after Saturday's dead rubber against Leverkusen.

Dortmund's main focus will now be on keeping the likes of Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland at the club this summer, with the dynamic duo understandably attracting interest from several major European clubs. If BVB are to compete with Bayern Munich next season, their recruitment must be watertight.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Hannes Wolf reacts on May 15, 2021© Reuters

Leverkusen announced a huge managerial decision of their own earlier this week, with current Young Boys manager Gerardo Seoane set to become the club's new head coach ahead of next season.

Seoane was responsible for leading the Swiss outfit to a shock 6-3 aggregate victory against Leverkusen in the Europa League first knockout round earlier this year, so the 42-year-old clearly caught the eye of the German side's hierarchy.

Hannes Wolf had stepped in as interim manager following the dismissal of Peter Bosz towards the end of March, with the 40-year-old performing very respectably to ensure Leverkusen will compete in European competition once again next season.

With Union Berlin five points behind Die Werkself in the table with only two matches remaining, Wolf knew all his players had to do was avoid defeat against Urs Fischer's side last weekend in order for them to wrap up a Europa League spot.

Florian Wirtz's 26th-minute opener always made that look likely, with Joel Pohjanpalo's second-half equaliser resulting in a share of the spoils.

Having been top of the table in mid-December after a brilliant start to the campaign, Leverkusen may look back on this season as a lost opportunity, but they can hope for better days to come under Seoane next season.

Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • D



Team News

Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba celebrates scoring in January 2021© Reuters

Dortmund will remain without Marwin Hitz, Mateu Morey, Youssoufa Moukoko, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Axel Witsel and Marcel Schmelzer due to injury in Terzic's last match in charge.

Veteran defender Lukasz Piszczek will hope for a farewell start at right-back ahead of his retirement this summer, although the 35-year-old has suffered with a muscle issue in recent weeks.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, will travel without the suspended duo of Nadiem Amiri and Edmond Tapsoba after the pair both picked up their fifth bookings of the season against Union Berlin last week.

Sven Bender and Demarai Gray are likely to come into Wolf's final first XI as Leverkusen interim manager.

Exequiel Palacios, Daley Sinkgraven, Lars Bender, Leon Bailey, Lucas Alario, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Santiago Arias and Julian Baumgartlinger make up a lengthy treatment table, though.

Patrik Schick is a doubt due to an ankle issue and may not be risked ahead of representing Czech Republic at Euro 2020, with Karim Bellarabi potentially coming in on the right flank and Wirtz utilised as a false nine.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki; Piszczek, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro; Can, Bellingham, Dahoud; Sancho, Haaland, Reus

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Tah, Dragovic, Bender; Diaby, Aranguiz, Demirbay, Wendell; Bellarabi, Wirtz, Gray


SM words green background

We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Both sides can play without pressure given that they have already secured their main aim of recent months, which could help create an open game.

However, Leverkusen's injury crisis makes Dortmund heavy favourites, especially with the likes of Sancho and Haaland in superb form of late as they look to impress potential suitors.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data



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Written by
Brett Curtis

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Borussia Dortmund win with a probability of 43.02%. A win for Bayer Leverkusen had a probability of 33.11% and a draw had a probability of 23.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Borussia Dortmund win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.71%) and 2-0 (6.34%). The likeliest Bayer Leverkusen win was 1-2 (7.73%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.91%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 4.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Borussia Dortmund would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Dortmund vs B. Leverkusen

Borussia Dortmund
87.1%
Draw
5.9%
Bayer Leverkusen
6.9%
101
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Borussia Dortmund caretaker manager Edin Terzic pictured on February 20, 2021
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern14103142123033
2Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen1485132201229
3Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt1483334201427
4RB Leipzig148332315827
5Freiburg147342019124
6Stuttgart146532924523
7Mainz 05Mainz146442519622
8Borussia DortmundDortmund146442521422
9Werder Bremen146442224-222
10Wolfsburg146353125621
11Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach146352319421
12Union BerlinUnion Berlin144551315-217
13Augsburg144461627-1116
14Hoffenheim143561926-714
15St Pauli143291119-811
16Heidenheim1431101831-1310
17Holstein Kiel1412111437-235
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum1403111135-243


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