Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
WWK Arena sets the stage for a high-stakes Bundesliga contest between relegation-battling Augsburg and European hopefuls Borussia Dortmund.
Augsburg’s hopes of turning the corner after a 2-1 home triumph against Borussia Monchengladbach right before the international break marked only their second league win this season quickly evaporated last weekend. A 3-1 rout at the hands of Freiburg condemned the out-of-sorts hosts to their fourth defeat in seven Bundesliga matches (W2, D1), keeping them only three points clear of the bottom three at the start of this round. But if it’s any consolation, Augsburg’s seven points this term have all come at this venue (W2, D1, L1), where they’ve held Dortmund winless in three of their last four top-flight H2Hs (W1, D2, L1), including a 1-1 draw in this corresponding fixture in December 2023.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund let a two-goal halftime cushion slip through their fingers in midweek UEFA Champions League action as Real Madrid trounced them 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu. That result maintained a disappointing trend that has seen ‘Die Borussen’ alternate between winning (2) and losing (2) across their last four competitive outings. A high-scoring theme has been the only denominator in that sequence, with all four matches producing over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. However, Nuri Sahin’s men have notoriously struggled on the road, losing their last three away games in all competitions, two of which saw them concede precisely five goals!