Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund’s Rare Opportunity to Move Up Top

Borussia Dortmund vs Koln

Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga title charge continues at home when they’ll host Koln at the Signal Iduna Park. BVB are at second place in the German top-flight standings and they might see themselves at the summit if things go according to plan.

They are only trailing by one point against the defending champions Bayern Munich and the latter faces a tricky test when they visit Union Berlin on Saturday. Either way, a win in this particular game would give Marco Rose’s side a major boost.

BVB appear to be the stronger team in this matchup but Koln are not to be underestimated despite not being favoured by the SBOTOP pre-match betting odds.

Under the watchful eye of Steffen Baumgart, who took the coaching reins last May, Koln have turned into a promising group that is capable of producing numerous Bundesliga 2021 highlights.

A big matchday awaits us this weekend, so let’s take a look into these clubs in today’s match preview.

Talking Points

No Erling Haaland for Borussia Dortmund

Erling Haaland’s 2021 is essentially over since there’s no timetable of his return as of the moment following his hip injury. The Norwegian star has a torn muscle in his hip flexor, which is a huge blow both to BVB’s title aspirations as well as his own Golden Boot hopes.

Erling Haaland is the second top scorer in the Bundesliga this season behind goalscoring king Robert Lewandowski and he didn’t feature against Arminia Bielefeld last weekend.

BVB didn’t skip a beat, however, with a 3-1 scoreline and it was followed up with a 2-0 win against Ingolstadt during the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

After resting several key players last Tuesday, Marco Rose should have options at his disposal sans Erling Haaland and he’ll need them to produce.

Jude Bellingham, Donyell Malen, Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard are all tasked to look for more goals while skipper Marco Reus will act as their main creative outlet at the No. 10 role.

Emre Can should slide back to his usual midfield role after assuming centre-back duties to deputise for Manuel Akanji in the last time out, while Mahmoud Dahoud, Youssoufa Moukoko, Roman Burki are all contending for spots in the starting XI.

Anthony Modeste is the man for Koln

Anthony Modeste will lead Koln to their next Bundesliga victory against Borussia Dortmund — Koln’s Anthony Modeste gestures on the pitch after scoring against Bayer Leverkusen in their recent Bundesliga match

The Billy Goats are eager to get another victory to boost their European aspirations and they’ll rely on their top hitman to make it happen.

Against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, the odds were stacked against Koln but they secured a vital point with a rousing comeback thanks to Anthony Modeste’s heroics.

Koln were in danger to lose when they were dealt with a two-goal deficit after scores from Patrik Schick and Karim Bellarabi, but they simply weren’t about to be denied.

Steffen Baumgart’s men were aggressive in hunting goals and Anthony Modeste reached his half-century goal milestone for the Billy Goats by scoring a brace late in the second half.

Koln are hoping to maintain their form starting with their second round DFB-Pokal matchup against VfB Stuttgart tomorrow.

With second leading scorer Ellyes Skhiri still sidelined due to a knee injury, Anthony Modeste has to shoulder the scoring load for the Billy Goats once more.

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History

Koln haven’t had much success in playing at Signal Iduna Park. The Billy Goats have endured 25 away losses to the Yellow Wall in the Bundesliga, which is the second-highest behind Borussia Monchengladbach (26).

When they defeated BVB last November 2020, it was the Billy Goats’ first Bundesliga away win over them since 1991.

In the reverse fixture, Koln held them to a 2-2 draw. It marked the first time since 2017 (W1, D1) where they remained unbeaten in their two league matches for a single season.

BVB have won each of their last nine home matches in the Bundesliga and they’re closing in on their record of 12 in 1994. Marco Rose also became the first Borussia Dortmund coach to win each of his first five home games at the helm.

Betting Tip

	Borussia Dortmund vs Koln	Borussia Dortmund Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 1.96
	October 30, 22:30 (GMT+8)

The Bundesliga 2021 odds are backing Borussia Dortmund to come away with the three points this Saturday.

BVB are installed as the favourites at 1.45, while the Billy Goats are priced at 6.20 to win and chances for a draw are at 4.60 in the 1X2 market.

Despite being dubbed as the underdogs, Koln can certainly make it interesting since they can cause headaches for Borussia Dortmund especially with their injury problems.

We can expect goals to be scored from these two sides. But overall, we may have to give the hosts the edge here because of their sheer quality and depth especially up front.