Overview
After the winter break, Frankfurt returned to the Bundesliga with two consecutive victories against St Pauli and Freiburg. They are having an extremely impressive time playing in the domestic league, with 33 points after 17 matches and 3rd place in the rankings.
In that impressive run of matches, Omar Marmoush's form has been key to Frankfurt's rise. In the Bundesliga alone, the Egyptian has scored 15 goals and provided 10 assists. Marmoush has contributed significantly to Frankfurt's current tally of 40 goals, a tally only surpassed by Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.
In contrast, Dortmund are going through a relatively bleak early period of 2025. They suffered two consecutive defeats against Leverkusen and Holstein Kiel - an opponent that was rated much lower.
After 17 rounds of Bundesliga, Dortmund have only 25 points and are ranked 9th in the rankings. For coach Nuri Sahin, his first season at Signal Iduna Park is becoming more stressful than ever.
In the context of struggling form, having to play away against Frankfurt is not an easy task for Dortmund. Nuri Sahin's team won 1, drew 2 and lost 5 of 8 away matches in the Bundesliga this season. Meanwhile, Frankfurt won 5, drew 2 and lost 1 at home at Deutsche Bank Park.
Overall, this is a great opportunity for Frankfurt to avenge their 0-2 loss to Dortmund on the opening day of the Bundesliga season. However, it should be noted that Frankfurt have failed to beat their opponents at home in their last 8 matches.
Human resources situation
Frankfurt have some squad issues ahead of this game with Aurele Amenda and Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe doubtful.
On the other side of the front line, Dortmund is without Sule due to injury. However, Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck are ready to play.
Expected lineup:
Frankfurt: Trapp, Collins, Koch, Theate, Kristensen, Brown, Skhiri, Gotze, Larsson, Marmoush, Ekitike.
Dortmund: Kobel, Ryerson, Can, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini, Nmecha, Duranville, Sabitzer, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens, Guirassy.
The match between Frankfurt and Dortmund takes place at 2:30 a.m. on January 18 (Vietnam time).
