Overview
It has been more than a decade since Dortmund last tasteed Bundesliga glory, and the hope of ending that drought is getting gloomy.
Currently, the Ruhr team is 7 points behind Bayern Munich - a gap that reflects not their weakness, but the superior excellence of their arch-rivals Bavaria.
In fact, Dortmund had a quite impressive start in the Bundesliga, with 6 wins after 10 rounds and only one defeat. Niko Kovac's team also has a solid defense, having only conceded 7 goals since the beginning of the season.
However, the international break came at the right time, after a series of unsatisfactory matches of Die Borussen. They lost 1-4 at Manchester City in the Champions League and then drew 1-1 with Hamburger SV in the domestic league.
Kovac and his students will now aim to return to the winning track when facing Stuttgart - a team they have not been able to defeat for more than 3 years.
Speaking about Die Schwaben, head coach Sebastian Hoeness is clearly making the most of the squad's quality, with the goal of bringing Stuttgart back to the position of a top Bundesliga club.
Last season, Stuttgart only finished in disappointing Ninth place, but winning the DFB-Pokal championship and ending an 18-year title drought brought an important boost in spirit.
One of the biggest ambitions of the Swabian team this season is to step into the top 4. And they are on the right track, with only Bayern Munich having won more games than Stuttgart since the start of the season.
Under Hoeness, Stuttgart have won 6 out of 8 matches before the international break, maintaining competition not only in the Bundesliga but also in the continental playground.
Balancing between the Europa League and domestic ambitions is always a challenge. However, Stuttgart still hope to maintain their current momentum, while extending their winning streak against Dortmund to six.
Personnel situation
Kovac brought good news before this match when he confirmed that all of his international players are back in good health.
Currently, Dortmund is still concerned about two injuries as Niklas Sule and Ramy Bensebaini will both be absent. Sule's toe injury is particularly worrying, with Kovac admitting that the centre-back still struggles even when he shoots.
On Stuttgart's side, Angelo Stiller will try to create an impressive performance after being left out of the German national team by Julian Nagelsmann in the recent training session.
In defence, Luca Jaquez and Ramon Hendriks have returned to training after muscle problems, but both will likely continue to be absent.
In addition, Stuttgart will also not have the services of Ermedin Demirovic (footed injury), Yannik Keitel ( thigh injury) and Justin Diehl ( ankle injury).
Expected lineup:
Dortmund: Kobel, Anton, Can, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson, Chukwuemeka, Beier, Guirassy.
Stuttgart: Nubel, Assignon, Jeltsch, Zagadou, Mittelstadt, Karazor, Stiller, Bouanani, El Khannouss, Leweling, Undav.
The match between Dortmund and Stuttgart takes place at 9:30 p.m. on November 22 (Vietnam time).
