Borussia Dortmund vs Koln 25/01/20

25 January 2020

Borussia Dortmund will have no margin for error against an in-form Koln side at the Signal Iduna Park this week, as they have a seven-point gap to reduce on the Bundesliga (BL) toppers, RB Leipzig.

The new calendar year has started in the best possible way for the hosts, who pulled off an astonishing second-half turnaround to beat Augsburg 5-3 away from home. That success has helped the BVB erase the memory of two straight BL matches without a win (D1, L1), but has once again exposed their defensive problems. Indeed, Lucien Favre’s men have now conceded over 1.5 goals in each of their previous three league matches, with 87.5% of those goals coming in the second half. Nonetheless, ‘Die Borussen’ remain the only team in Germany’s top tier that have yet to taste defeat on home turf this term (W5, D3), with 63% of those fixtures seeing the BVB open the scoring. Also, the Signal Iduna Park has been a venue of entertainment this campaign, considering 88% of Dortmund’s league games here have produced over 2.5 goals.

As for the visitors, they’ve hit a purple patch recently, picking up four straight BL triumphs ahead of this trip, with three of those successes coming via a multiple-goal margin. However, Koln’s disappointing away record (W2, D1, L6) could be a major influence here, especially as four of those six defeats have come in the last five league trips (W1). Furthermore, ‘Die Geißböcke’ have conceded over 1.5 goals in seven of nine BL away fixtures (78%), which puts them on a pair with Fortuna Dusseldorf as joint holders of this infamous record. Hence, Koln will need a miracle to post their elusive first BL away win over Dortmund in the new millennium (D4, L8).