Given their good showings so far this season, it's quite shocking that at one point, Borussia Dortmund were actually in the relegation zone at one point last term. Since clawing their way up the table to secure a European football berth by the end of the 2014/2015 campaign, die Schwarzgelben have been in absolutely sparkling form both in their domestic and continental competitions. Meanwhile, their upcoming opponents Bayer Leverkusen have experienced a roller-coaster ride and will be keen on righting the ship as they take on the 2013 Champions League finalists this Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund
Since the beginning of their 2015/2016 campaign on July 30th, Dortmund have been perfect. They kicked off their Europa League third qualifying round with a win over Austrian side Wolfsberger and have not looked back since as they outscored their opponents 17 to five on aggregate to earn a place in the group stage. Earlier this past week, die Borussen kicked things off with a well-deserved and hard-fought victory over Russian outfit Krasnodar. And in domestic competition, they have been no slouch either, earning twelve points from their first four matches.
However, in Leverkusen, they will be facing a team that has given them trouble in their prior meetings. So far, both teams have faced off 72 times in the Bundesliga dating back to October 26, 1979, and the results are pretty evenly split down the middle. Out of these games, Dortmund have won 25, whilst Leverkusen have emerged as victors on 26 occasions and the other 21 games have finished as draws. In their past five matches, tomorrow's visitors have won or drawn all but one of those games, and the last time Dortmund earned all three points was on February 3, 2013.
That was also the same year they made it to the Champions League final, only to be beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich in the tournament's first all-German final featured at Wembley. Of the three goalscorers in that 3-2 victory over Leverkusen - Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Blaszczykowski, and Marco Reus - only one man remains at the famed Signal-Iduna Park, and much to the joy of the team's loyal fans, could be making his return to action tomorrow.
Despite a stop-start beginning to his season, Reus has netted six goals so far in all competitions, including a hat-trick in Dortmund's 7-2 hammering of Norwegian side Odd last month. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who have nine each, have scored more. And with the excellent understanding between Reus and speedy Gabon international Aubameyang that was on full display last season, fans will surely be excited at the prospect of seeing "Batman and Robin" back on the pitch.
For Thomas Tuchel, this has been nothing short of an excellent debut season but his 100 percent win record could come under serious threat as his side prepare to welcome Leverkusen tomorrow evening.
Bayer Leverkusen
As a result of finishing fourth last season, Bayer Leverkusen earned themselves a spot in the Champions League play-offs. Although they were defeated by Lazio in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico, Roger Schmidt's side showed their class as they trounced their Italian opponents 3-0 in the home fixture to secure their place in the group stages.
With reigning UCL winners Barcelona and Serie A runners-up Roma for company in their quartet, Leverkusen made sure they got three points in the bank by cruising to a comfortable 4-1 win over Eastern European outfit BATE to take top spot in Group E. And given that Roma and Leverkusen will be duking it out to qualify alongside Barcelona, this victory could prove vital as the group stage progresses throughout this year.
Yet, despite their good showings on the European stage, Leverkusen have not been so consistent in Bundesliga play. They started off well, with wins over Hoffenheim and Hannover, but saw their fortunes take a drastic downturn over the past two matches. A 3-0 loss to Bayern could be forgiven, especially given the dominance of die Roten over the past few seasons, but a 1-0 defeat to recently promoted Darmstadt now leaves Schmidt's men without a goal since matchday two and feeling the pressure to avoid a third straight loss.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they will also have to contend with a slew of injuries to some key players, including Lars Bender, Tin Jedvaj, Omer Torpak, and Charles Aranguiz. Still, their good record against Dortmund is not something to be disregarded and they have shown they do have the mettle to come back after suffering a defeat.
Earlier today, Bayern Munich made sure that they still maintain their own perfect win record following their expected victory over Darmstadt. As such, Tuchel's men will be keen on keeping the reigning Bundesliga champions in sight as they if they want to have any chance of stopping the Bavarian powerhouse from winning yet another league title. However, as noted, Leverkusen have presented a tricky opponent in the past. Will either side prevail? Or will both teams have to settle for a point?
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