Paderborn vs Borussia Dortmund: Bundesliga: Match Preview and Prediction

Borussia Dortmund will travel to the Benteler-Arena to take on Paderborn in a crucial Bundesliga fixture.

Dortmund is coming off a defeat in the Der Klassiker by a narrow margin, which allowed Bayern Munich to take a big lead at the top of the table.

The Black and Yellows sit second in the table with 17 wins and are now 10 points behind the table toppers with a game in hand. 

Paderborn’s return to the Bundesliga after years of turbulence is not going according to plan. They have only managed to win four matches this season and have scored only 31 goals.

They sit 18th in the table with only 19 points to their name and are a whopping 38 points behind their tonight’s opponents. A good result tonight may help them gain some momentum, which can help them stay in the top tier.

Recent form

Paderborn: LLDDD

Dortmund: WWWWL

Team News

For Paderborn, Klaus Gjasula is suspended for this one after accumulating 15 yellow cards this season. But, striker Streli Mamba has recovered to boost their chances of making an upset.

For Lucien Favre’s side, wonderkid Erling Haaland hobbled off with a minor knee injury against Bayern and is ruled out for this match. Captain Marco Reus is out for the rest of the season. Axel Witsel could slot into midfield in place of Mahmoud Dahoud.

Last time out

The last time they faced each other, BVB made a remarkable comeback after going 0-3 down at the stroke of half-time. Jadon Sancho, Axel Witsel scored and captain Marco Reus completed the comeback deep into the injury time to level the scores. It finished 3-3 in the end.

Key Battles

Sebastian Schonlau vs Jadon Sancho

Schonlau will bear the responsibility of handling the BVB menace in the form of Jadon Sancho. Sancho has been a revelation this season as he has accumulated goals and assists in plenty. 

The English winger is the only player in Europe’s top-five league to record double digits in both goals and assists this season, which is impressive for a 20-year old. He is still not match-fit but his chances of starting the match have been strengthened by the fact that Haaland has been ruled out for this clash.

Schonlau boasts of a brilliant clearance record and is adept at interceptions too. The German handled Sancho amazingly well till the first half the last time these two faced off and he would like to go one better this time.

Streli Mamba vs Mats Hummels

Mamba, who until this season had never played higher than the third tier scored two amazing goals in the reverse fixture earlier this season and he could replicate the same if he is given a free rein. 

The 25-year old German forward has already scored five goals this season and is one of the better performers in this Paderborn team.

The task of handling Mamba would fall in the able hands of Hummels. The World Cup winner is an experienced customer and will try to curtail any mamba esque movement from the Paderborn forward.

Prediction

BVB have scored at least three goals in their last four matches against Paderborn in all competitions and are undefeated in their last seven matches against them.

Paderborn have drawn their last three games in the league and will be looking to continue on this positive trajectory by beating Dortmund, who will be slightly down as their chances of winning the league evaporated in their loss to Bayern Munich.

They also had a decent result the last time these two faced each other but this Dortmund side is too good for the relegation doomed side. We predict that the Black and Yellows would have an easy victory away from home to get their season back on track again.

Score Prediction:- Paderborn 1-3 Borussia Dortmund

Cover image credits: Squawka