The flu wave meets Dortmund: Personnel worries before duel against Leverkusen!

Borussia Dortmund trifft am 10.01.2025 auf Bayer Leverkusen, kämpft jedoch mit Personalsorgen durch eine Grippewelle.
Borussia Dortmund meets Bayer Leverkusen on January 10, 2025, but fights through a flu wave with personnel worries. (Symbolbild/ANAG)

The flu wave meets Dortmund: Personnel worries before duel against Leverkusen!

On January 10, 2025 at 8:30 p.m., Borussia Dortmund meets Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the home arena. While Dortmund has to struggle with significant personnel worries before the game, Leverkusen has a comparatively better starting point. fr.de reports that the Dortmunder has already put numerous players out of action. No experienced central defender is fit, and only young talent Yannik Lührs can appear on the defensive.

The absences in pain, because with Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini, Waldemar Anton and captain Emre Can are missing several key players. Bensbaini and Anton in particular are safe failures, while Niklas Süle and Pascal Groß will not be in the squad either. Trainer Nuri Sahin emphasizes that he sees this game as a great chance to strengthen his team's confidence.

plausible lists

The expected list of Borussia Dortmund looks like this:

position player
gate Gregor Kobel
defense yan couto, lührs, nmecha, ryson
midfield Julian Brandt
attack KARIM ADEYEMI, Jamie Gitten, Serhou Guirassy

On the other hand, Bayer 04 Leverkusen could compete without granite Xhaka, who fights with ankle problems. However, coach Xabi Alonso admits that there is still hope for Xhaka. Patrik Schick, who was most recently in outstanding form and scored four goals in the last game against Freiburg, is expected to start before Victor Boniface. Amine Adli will also be missing, and the possible installation of Leverkusen could look as follows:

position player
gate lukas hradecky
defense Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie
midfield Jeremie Frimpong, Exequiel Palacios, Granit Xhaka (questionable), Alex Grimaldo
attack Florian Wirtz, Nathan Tella, Patrik Schick

personnel situation and strategic considerations

Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin hopes for a "turn to the better" in this critical phase of the season. The failures not only have an impact on the defensive, but also on the team's offensive creativity. Marcel Sabitzer will not be in the starting eleven for the time being, and Maximilian Beier will play central roles.

Leverkusen, on the other hand, has no sign of a personnel bottleneck, apart from the uncertainties around Granit Xhaka. They are currently fighting in the table and are four points behind Bavaria. A victory against Dortmund would be crucial for her to keep the connection to the top. Sports.yahoo.com emphasizes that the strategic direction and the form of Patrik Schick Leverkusen could play in the cards.

In the entire 2022/23 Bundesliga season, injuries and illnesses have had a deep influence on the teams. The most common causes are muscle injuries that are particularly the focus this season. Fussballwedhungen.com shows current statistics that show how strongly the competition is influenced by the problems of injury. These aspects will be of central importance for Dortmund in order to be able to survive against a highly motivated Leverkusen team.

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