Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
A heavyweight clash takes place when two of the most recent Bundesliga winners not named Bayern Munich face off in the 2024/25 season.
Both sides are fourth and fifth in the Bundesliga standings, with Bayer Leverkusen marginally ahead of Borussia Dortmund by a single point. They will be in fierce competition for crucial places after losing ground in this season's title race.
Their league meetings last season both ended in draws, but BVB are unbeaten in six of their last seven head-to-head encounters.
The Black and Yellow are coming off an eventful season where they finished fifth in a disappointing Bundesliga campaign but reached the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in eleven years, losing 2–0 to Real Madrid.
Borussia Dortmund had sold star player Jude Bellingham but their history of near misses continued, hence, they will be keen on tangible success this term.
Nuri Sahin replaced Edin Terzic at the helm and he started the season with four unbeaten games in all competitions until the heavy 5-1 defeat to Stuttgart. Dortmund attempted to dust themselves down with consecutive wins, including a 7-1 thrashing of Celtic, but losses to Union Berlin, Real Madrid, Augsburg and Wolfsburg in all competitions destabilised them a bit.
Die Schwarzgelben seem to have stopped the rot with a 4-0 win over Freiburg and a 3-0 defeat of Dinamo Zagreb. Nuri Sahin has now steered his side to four wins in their last five games, with 11 goals scored and four conceded in that period.
Dortmund have a 100% record at home so far this season with six wins, and they have not lost at Westfalenstadion since early April. They are now fourth in the Champions League standings and remain on course for an automatic place in the Round of 16, while they sit fifth in the Bundesliga after 11 matches, just two points behind the top four but ten adrift of league leaders Bayern.
The Prussians have already beaten third-placed RB Leipzig and second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on home soil this term, they are now well-placed to get one over the defending champions.
Bayer Leverkusen had to score late in the second half to draw their two fixtures with BVB last term and they will be wary of what is to come in their latest visit to North Rhine-Westphalia.
Xabi Alonso's sider were crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time ever, ending Bayern Munich's run of 11 successive league titles last season.
They also earned that feat after becoming the first team in German top flight history to go an entire campaign unbeaten, and won the 2024 DFB-Pokal to emphasize their dominance of German football last term.
Bayer Leverkusen were not expected to keep up those unprecedented levels of performance and their domestic unbeaten streak ended after a 3–2 defeat to RB Leipzig in the second game of the season.
They did not lose any of the following nine league games while making a respectable return to the Champions League with wins over Feyenoord, AC Milan and RB Salzburg as well as a draw at Brest and a humbling defeat to Liverpool.
Leverkusen are now fourth in the league and in a comfortable sixth place which puts them in good position for an automatic slot in the UCL Last 16.
The 5-0 triumph over Salzburg was Leverkusen's joint-biggest win in European football and a third Champions League win this season is the first time they have done so since the 2014/2015 campaign.
Although Die Schwarzroten have struggled for consistency so far in the league, they have at least been difficult to beat away from home with only one defeat from their last five matches on the road. Alonso's side are unbeaten in the last 22 Bundesliga away games, with 16 wins and five draws at the time of writing.
The Black and Reds have registered too many draws so far and they must find the ruthless side that set them apart last season, in order to reduce the nine-point gap to leaders Bayern.
A win away at Dortmund would turn around their fortunes and put them back in contention, as well as knock off a league rival.
This Bundesliga matchday 16 fixture takes place on Friday, 10 January 2025 with kick-off scheduled for 7:30 PM UK time. It promises to be a memorable occasion, with match tickets now available for sale on the website of each individual club and priority access given to club members and season ticket holders.
Signal Iduna Park is a befitting backdrop for this classic fixture and around 81,000 supporters are expected to fill the stands of the largest stadium in Germany. Dortmund enjoy a fantastic atmosphere in their home games but Die Werkself will also have a considerable away contingent.
Fans who are yet to reserve their match tickets can find Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen tickets on a resale site, where regular match goers can also find Borussia Dortmund tickets to any matches this season.
Karim Adeyemi remains sidelined with a hamstring injury and he is joined by Niklas Sule, meanwhile, Julian Brandt is a doubt after going off injured against Zagreb with a muscle problem.
Leverkusen are struggling with injuries as six players are currently sidelined including Martin Terrier, Victor Boniface, Jeanuel Belocian, Nordi Mukiele, Jonas Hofmann and Amine Adli.
Serhou Guirassy will be looking to return to the BVB starting XI as the central striker, while Pascal Gross is deployed in midfield alongside Emre Can or Felix Nmecha.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Can, Gross; Malen, Sabitzer, Gittens; Guirassy
Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick should be Leverkusen's front two while Granit Xhaka, Robert Andrich and Aleix Garcia start in midfield.
Further behind, there should be a back three consisting of Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah and Piero Hincapie protecting Lukas Hradecky's goal.
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Garcia, Grimaldo; Wirtz, Schick
Dortmund have conceded at least two goals on seven occasions this season and Leverkusen will look to hurt their backline.
It remains to be seen if Leverkusen can end their winless run against the Black and Yellows but the Bundesliga champions should avoid defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia, even if it may not be enough to secure all three points.
Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
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