Fresh from thrashing Wolfsburg 6-0, Borussia Dortmund will continue their pursuit of Bundesliga glory when Borussia Monchengladbach visit Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
Sitting one point shy of table-topping Bayern Munich, BVB will be wary of the threat posed by Gladbach, who have been wildly unpredictable throughout this season.
Match preview
Borussia Dortmund ensured that Bayern Munich will not waltz their way to an 11th successive Bundesliga title as they kept the pressure on the perennial champions with a statement victory over Wolfsburg last time out.
Karim Adeyemi and Jude Bellingham both bagged a brace in the rout, while Sebastien Haller and Donyell Malen completed the scoring, meaning that Malen has netted seven goals across the previous seven league games.
Sunday's victory was Dortmund's 10th straight Bundesliga win at Signal Iduna Park, while BVB have avoided defeat in each of their last 13 home league games, securing 12 victories to keep pace with Bayern.
In truth, Edin Terzic's men have been in excellent form since returning from the winter break, as they have suffered a solitary defeat in 16 league matches this side of the World Cup, taking 39 points from a possible 48.
Having scored 41 goals across their 10-game winning streak on home soil – netting at least four goals on seven occasions in that time – Borussia Dortmund are not likely to be kept quiet by Saturday's visitors.
Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach ended a run of one victory in nine matches with a 2-0 win over relegation strugglers VfL Bochum last weekend, courtesy of goals from Jonas Hofmann and Lars Stindl.
It is fair to say that Borussia MG could – and probably should – have scored more goals against Bochum, as the hosts racked up 25 shots at Borussia-Park, although the Foals have failed to net more than two goals in a single game since February.
Gladbach's inconsistent performances have seen them record two wins, three draws and two losses in their last seven outings, with successive defeats to Union Berlin and Stuttgart preceding last weekend's victory over Bochum.
In terms of the bigger picture, Daniel Farke's men have recorded 10 wins, nine draws and 12 losses this season, underlining the team's unpredictability.
That said, there is nothing unpredictable about BMG's away form, as they have managed to win just one of their 15 Bundesliga clashes on the road this term, with eight defeats coming in their previous 12 away league outings.
Team News
Borussia Dortmund will be without the injured quartet of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (shoulder), Julien Duranville (thigh), Thomas Meunier (muscle) and Mateu Morey Bauza (knee) this weekend.
Naturally, Edin Terzic will be reluctant to change the winning formula, so Emre Can and Julian Brandt are expected to join Jude Bellingham in midfield, with Donyell Malen, Sebastien Haller and Karim Adeyemi continuing in attack.
Marius Wolf, Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels and Julian Ryerson look set to make up BVB's backline, while goalkeeper Gregor Kobel will continue behind as the last line of defence.
Borussia Monchengladbach have a couple of injury absentees of their own, with Yvandro Borges Sanches (ankle) and Marcus Thuram (muscle) currently on the sidelines.
Alassane Plea will continue to lead the line for the visitors, having chalked up two goals and 13 assists this season, while Florian Neuhaus and Nathan Ngoumou are expected to operate on the wings.
Ex-Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl will no doubt be eager to get one over on his former club, with Manu Kone likely to join Weigl in Gladbach's engine room on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Wolf, Sule, Hummels, Ryerson; Bellingham, Can, Brandt; Malen, Haller, Adeyemi
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Lainer, Friedrich, Elvedi, Bensebaini; Weigl, Kone; Neuhaus, Hofmann, Ngoumou; Plea
We say: Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
When you couple Dortmund's strong home form with Gladbach's woeful record on the road, all the signs point towards another convincing BVB win at Signal Iduna Park.
Given that Terzic's men have been firing in goals for fun on home soil, we can see Dortmund notching a high-scoring victory at the expense of the Foals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
