Preview: Dortmund aiming to overcome further injuries
Jürgen Klopp rightly bemoaned his side’s luck this week, though in a rather sarcastic manner. The comment was perhaps slightly insensitive towards Saarbrücken but served as a reminder of Dortmund’s problems after the Mainz game:
"We are so nice that we injure ourselves down to Saarbrücken's level."
For the first time in his time as a Dortmund manager, Klopp made three substitutions prior to half-time in the Bundesliga. Nuri Sahin came in for Sven Bender when Dortmund was struggling to live up to Mainz’s pressing during the weekend. Jakub Blaszczykowski went off due to muscular problems at half-time and on captain Sebastian Kehl. Marco Reus, who is currently struggling to be fit for the Saarbrücken match, went off for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Yet, BVB did not grow into the game until the final twenty minutes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring with a superb free-kick. Mainz, however, was not going to go down so easily. Lukasz Piszczek, playing a complete match for the first time since his return from injury, fouled Yunus Malli. On a day in which a competition could be held for the longest name on the pitch, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting stepped up and buried the penalty.
Dortmund was not to be undone though; Mainz had started tiring out and gave away a needless penalty when Elkin Soto kept out a goal bound effort with his hand, resulting in a red card. Robert Lewandowski stepped up and converted with ease. In the final seconds, BVB earned another penalty and Lewandowksi once again converted to give his side a very important three points on a day in which Bayern and Leverkusen cruised to victories.
Now, Klopp must find a team to field against Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken sits in nineteenth spot in the 3.Liga table, having collected a measly 16 points from 18 games. Their current performances are a far cry from the ones demonstrated prior to the Bundesliga era, when they finished runners-up in the German Championship in 1943 and 1952 and won the Oberliga Südwest in 1961.
Saarland, the origin of Saarbrücken acted as a separate nation at one point due to not belonging to either France or Germany. Ten Saarbrücken players represented Saarland in the 1954 World Cup. In the 1956 European Cup, Saarbrücken represented Saarland, going out to Italians AC Milan in the first round.
The current Saarbrücken team will be contending against a BVB side without Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Ilkay Gündogan and Marcel Schmelzer. They will be coming into the match on the back of a 2-3 defeat to RB Leipzig.
Where to watch the match: Live Streams, Live Scores, Start Times, TV Channels
Watch Saarbrücken vs Borussia Dortmund live on December 4, 2013:
In Canada at 14:30 ET on Sportsnet World
In the USA at 14:30 ET on ESPN 3 and Univision Deportes
In Germany, viewers can tune into BVB Total to catch the match.
For the complete TV listings and live scores upon kick-off, visit the Saarbrücken-Dortmund match page.
