At 3:30 a.m. on 16 December, the 16th round of the Bundesliga ushered in a strong and weak match, and Borussia Dortmund are expected to return to winning the Bundesliga, when they will face the bottom-ranked Fürth at home at Iduna Park, and the home team lost to top-ranked Bayern Munich in the weekend, while the visiting team finally won the first game in 15 consecutive games this season.
Due to a disappointing 1-1 draw against promoted Ma Bochum on Saturday, Borussia Dortmund trailed league leaders Bayern by six points after a narrow victory. Had it not been for Brent's late goal five minutes later, Dortmund would have lost miserably despite their dominance for most of the game. After a 3-2 defeat to Bayern at the DeCrasic Stadium on 5 December, follow-up against Bochum would see consecutive Bundesliga defeats, meaning Marco Ross's side would miss the chance to overtake their opponents at that only point.
However, after two setbacks, Borussia Dortmund will unsurprisingly enter the winter break with a second-place finish, and although they will have to play against Gweser and Hertha Berlin before the winter break, they will be expected to score six points, hoping that Bayern will have a (rare) mistake that will give them the confidence to prevent Bayern from winning the title for the tenth consecutive time. Haaland's return in recent weeks has at least made the black and white before the goal shine brighter, and the Norwegian striker's health will play a key role in the title race, scoring 11 goals in just nine Bundesliga games so far.
Fürth, on the other hand, gave himself a glimmer of hope in his quest to avoid immediate relegation. Having scored just one point in their opening 14 games before last weekend's home match against Union Berlin, and conceding the division's worst 46 goals in that time, the Clovers look set to spend a miserable season in the top flight.
Although the 1-0 win over Berlin United at the weekend brought some luck, and Stefan Letel was defensive for most of the game, Leterl didn't care too much because the three points were more important and precious to him and his team. Halford Nelson was the hero of the second half, and the Norwegian striker scored his first goal of the season, bringing their first victory to his side.
But today's away game against Borussia Dortmund was far from ideal, and the daunting trip to Iduna Park gave Fürth little chance of winning another game after their only win, especially since their current four-pointers are all at home. Despite Sunday's victory, Fürth are still at the bottom of the table and 13 points away from safe points, but they will visit the giants without pressure and will certainly enjoy the showdown with the Dortmund stars.
Dortmund are likely to be without left-back Rafael Guerrero again today, with Nico Schulz expected to represent the Portugal international again.
Fellow defender Manuel Akanji will remain absent after the winter break, so Dan Axel Zagadou will continue to partner Mats Hummels at the defensive core.
With Doyer Mullen unable to play due to the virus, Brent could go into the forward line alongside Haaland and Marco Reus.
Romain Burki, Mukoko, Reina, Mateu Morey and Schmeltze will all remain absent.
As for Fürth, despite a brief shift in the midweek schedule, Leterl is unlikely to change his starting 11-man. The entire season has been looking for a winning squad, so with last week's game, the same players could once again get the chance to do wonders today.
Goalkeeper Marius Vonk is out this season, meaning Sasha Bushett will be between the post again, while the defensive trio of Nick Vilgeffer, Justin Hogma and Gideon Jung will also be absent. Robin Kerr and Jessik Gankan have also been plagued by long-term injuries, with the strikers sidelined until next year.
Dortmund: Korbel; Meunier, Hummels, Zagadu, Schultz; Dahoud, Witsel, Bellingham; Brant, Reus; Haland
Fürth: Bürcht; Meyerhof, Griesbek, Bauer, Williams; Seguin, Kristiansen, Tillman; Hergota, Abiama, Nelson
Unfortunately for the visiting team, it was difficult to see a home win at the Signoy Duna Park. The gap between the two teams should be obvious, and while Fürth will struggle to avoid a fiasco, Borussia Dortmund will seek a comfortable victory to close the gap in the table.
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Fürth
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