Match Preview: Tullberg’s Troops to Host Shakhtar Donetsk at Home

Barely have we recovered from BVB’s most recent implosion against Werder Bremen before it’s once again time to sit ourselves in front of the screen for another 90 minutes of exciting attacking football. Gregor Kobel mentioned in the press conference for this game, that the squad needs a success. While it seem kinda obvious, it’s true nonetheless. This team really need to win some football matches and convince themselves that they’re good enough to be one of Germany’s and Europe’s biggest teams. Tomorrow they’re facing a team that has a lot of experience in the Champions League, namely Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine. Although Shakhtar is a well known name around the European continent, they haven’t exactly been at their best in recent years. Currently they’re sitting 3rd in the Ukrainian division with 10 full points behind Dynamo Kiev in 1st.

If you need a good reason to watch this game, just know that Shakhtar have been playing at the Veltins Arena in Germany as their makeshift stadium because of… You know. That should be reason enough to get some people in here fired up!

Player to Watch: Salih Özcan?

We all know that I know absolutely nothing about the current Shakhtar Donetsk squad. Instead, I want to focus on Dortmund’s first and probably also last “transfer” of this winter window (Kehl, what the f*ck is happening?). Good ol’ Salih Özcan has returned from the Wolfsburg bench, and honestly, I think it’s a fine move that suits all parties. With Nmecha out injured, Dortmund are in desperate need of someone who can occupy the number six position. And while Özcan never really delivered in black and yellow, he was still a fine servant, although with some fluctuations in terms of his performances. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Özcan thrown right into the mix tomorrow. He know the team, and he knows the position. Let’s make the best of it.

Photo by Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images

Predicted Starting XI

Süle is out and Nmecha is out. That about does it for the absences. Tullberg has plethora of different options to choose from tomorrow, and we can’t really know who he favors until the starting XI is officially out. I don’t expect too much to change, which is also reflected in my prediction below.

Honestly, at this point, it’s anybody’s game at Borussia Dortmund. Players like Reyna and Duranville have even been on trial in the starting XI in recent weeks, but all logic tells me that Tullberg won’t take too many chances, as the team are in desperate need of a win.

Score Prediction

I think that Dortmund played a fine game against Bremen on the weekend—and that was with ten men on the field. It’s really hard to say how much of the success can be attributed to Mike Tullberg working with the squad for 3 days, but at least there was something. Are my hopes high? Absolutely not. Do I think we will win? Yeah, kinda.