Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen Preview, Odds, Prediction

The second big derby of the Bundesliga this year takes place at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, where Borussia hosts Bayer Leverkusen. The first is the opener in Frankfurt between Eintracht and Bayern Munich. Saturday night is reserved for this clash, which is the central event of the round, and no doubt, it should be a spectacle for watching. Both sides have a superb offensive capacity, and even though the hosts have troubles due to Sebastian Haller’s situation, there are several players able to replace the fantastic striker. We also want to use this chance to wish Haller a quick and full recovery from his illness and, hopefully, to cover his comeback as soon as possible.

Preview

Borussia Dortmund (+105) didn’t end well their preseason period, losing to Valencia and Villarreal. Both of the Spanish sides are solid, but the Millionaires have higher ambitions than them, meaning that those defeats probably set off the alarm in Dortmund.

Haller’s situation was something unexpected, and seeing Borussia struggle in the attack is normal, until they adapt to the new circumstances and switch the system. But the defense has been even worse, and Edin Terzic needs to fix that ASAP.

Other than that, there aren’t some big things we might say about Borussia. They’ve added a few young players to their roster, replacing Haaland, Witsel, and Zagadou. The style of play is the same as before, including their offensive approach and very high tempo.

Bayer Leverkusen (+210) was shocked in the first round of the German Cup, suffering an elimination against Elversberg 4-3, and that was a hard slap in the face for all the fans. The players and the staff have to redeem for this loss; otherwise, things won’t start well for Bayer this season.

They have a solid team, with several players who are on the radar of major European teams, like Moussa Diaby or Patrick Schick. The boys from Leverkusen played four games in the preseason, winning two, posting one draw and one defeat.

Young Hlozek arrived from Sparta Prague, and his presence should bring a lot upfront because he presents one of the brightest talents in Europe. Bayer will continue to play aggressive and offensive like in the past season, as that is the philosophy of this assembly.

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As said, Haller won’t play for the hosts, and he is the only one injured among the Millionaires.

Florian Wirtz is out for a long time, the same as Fosu-Mensah, Adli and Bellarabi.

Head to Head Games

The previous two games these teams had were pretty fiery, with the guests winning. Dortmund was better in Leverkusen, 3-4, but in the second part of the year, Bayer smashed the Millionaires in Dortmund, 2-5.

Also, the last nine games were with three or more goals, eight with four or more, and only two weren’t with both teams netting.

Prediction

Well, to be honest, anything but betting on goals here would be pretty stupid. We pick both teams to score and over 2.5 scores, despite Borussia having problems with the attack. They have enough offensive potential to hit at least once during the upcoming 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Bayer has quite a few players able to deliver.

Pick: Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals -195