It did take a narrow 2-1 victory to beat Augsburg at home in October’s reverse fixture, though, a result that means BVB have also failed to keep a clean sheet in 16 straight Bundesliga H2Hs – their longest such run against any current Bundesliga side.
Augsburg
Sitting in the relegation zone and with their 11-season stay in the Bundesliga at stake, Augsburg now face a tough fixture against a Borussia Dortmund side with only the title left to play for. But Augsburg have caused their more illustrious opponents difficulty at the WWK Arena in recent years, winning two of the previous three H2Hs here after leading at half-time in both. Another good start would be surprising considering Augsburg’s form this season, after conceding a league-high ten goals in the opening 15 minutes, on their way to losing a joint-league high ten games at half-time/full-time ahead of this round. However, they’ve been harder to beat at home, picking up 68 per cent of their points on their own turf, including notable results over RB Leipzig (1-1) and league leaders Bayern Munich.
BVB
Dortmund, reeling from being knocked out of Europe 6-4 on aggregate by Rangers in midweek, will have to be wary they don’t fall to another shock result, especially as three wins from BVB’s last seven competitive games has heaped pressure on boss Marco Rose. His second-placed side remain hanging on in the title hunt, though, after a 6-0 win over Gladbach in their last Bundesliga outing. That pulled Dortmund’s scoring average to 2.74 goals per game, the second-highest in the club’s history after 23 Bundesliga matches. It did take a narrow 2-1 victory to beat Augsburg at home in October’s reverse fixture, though, a result that means BVB have also failed to keep a clean sheet in 16 straight Bundesliga H2Hs – their longest such run against any current Bundesliga side.
Michael Gregoritsch could strike early after netting before half-time in four of Augsburg’s last six Bundesliga games. Dortmund will hope for Erling Haaland to return here. Still, Marco Reus has stepped up in his absence scoring three goals before the 30th minute across Dortmund’s last two Bundesliga outings. There’s been at least two first-half goals in nine consecutive Dortmund games.