Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal

CASHPOINT Arena is the venue as Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking pre-season friendly.

Borussia Dortmund’s three-game winning pre-season streak came to a halt at the hands of Valencia last time out as they conceded on either side of halftime in a disappointing 3-1 defeat. With Erling Haaland gone and Sebastien Haller dealing with cancer, Edin Terzic’s men are facing massive issues up top. But they can draw confidence from a recent free-scoring form that had seen them net 2+ goals in seven consecutive matches before the abovementioned reverse to Valencia. Indeed, high scoring has been a common theme in Dortmund’s recent games, as eight of the last ten have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Villarreal played out a 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon in their inaugural pre-season friendly, yet they come into proceedings having beaten PSV Eindhoven 2-1 last time out. Consistency has not been Villarreal’s strong suit by any stretch of the imagination, with Unai Emery’s side alternating between winning (3) and not winning (D2, L1) across their last six outings. But there’s still a common denominator as five of those six fixtures witnessed both sides scoring, highlighting the potential for back-and-forth action. ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ are unbeaten in their last four games outside La Ceramica (W3, D1), netting 2+ goals in each victory.