Overview
After 4 consecutive draws and losses, Dortmund found the joy of victory again when they defeated Wolfsburg 3-1. Under coach Nuri Sahin, the Signal Iduna Park team has been quite good at attacking, as demonstrated by 15 goals in the last 7 matches (an average of 2.1 goals/match). However, the problem of the Ruhr team lies in their defense, which leads to them often losing points.
Dortmund will face defending champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga round of 16. After a shaky start to the season, coach Xabi Alonso's side are in fine form at the moment, winning eight straight games. That includes five Bundesliga wins, as well as knocking out Bayern Munich in the German Cup and beating Inter Milan and Salzburg in the Champions League.
Leverkusen's attack is even more impressive than Dortmund's. In the last 7 matches, Alonso's team scored 18 goals. The difference is that the Bay Arena team has a relatively solid defense, keeping a clean sheet in 5/7 recent matches.
Leverkusen are also not afraid to travel to Signal Iduna Park because their away form this season is very good. After 10 away matches since the beginning of the season, they are still unbeaten with a record of 7 wins and 3 draws. It is likely that Bayer Leverkusen will continue to have another impressive match and make Dortmund regret.
Human resources situation
Both managers are fortunate to have near-full strength squads available for this game, with Niklas Sule the only injured player for Dortmund, while Pascal Gross is sidelined with a red card.
On the other side of the front line, Jeanuel Belocian is the only Bayer Leverkusen player injured, while Jonas Hofmann and Amine Adli are still uncertain to play due to fitness problems.
Florian Wirtz, who is having his best season yet, will still be the visitors' biggest hope. The Germany international has seven goals and eight assists in 15 Bundesliga games this season.
Expected lineup:
Dortmund: Kobel, Bensebaini, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Ryerson, Can, Nmecha, Beier, Sabitzer, Gittens, Guirassy.
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Mukiele, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie, Xhaka, Palacios, Frimpong, Wirtz, Grimaldo, Schick.
The match between Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen takes place at 2:30 a.m. on January 11 (Vietnam time).
