Preview: Borussia Dortmund v FC Augsburg

Posted Tuesday, December 20, 2016 by foxsportsasia.com

Preview: Borussia Dortmund v FC Augsburg
Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they welcome FC Augsburg to Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.

Bundesliga
20/21 December 2016
Game week 16
Kickoff: 03:00 HKT

Venue: Signal Iduna Park
Referee: Guido Winkmann
Assistants: Christian Bandurski, Arno Blos
Fourth official: Arne Aarnink

Head-to-head summary:

TEAM MATCHES WIN DRAW LOSS
Dortmund 11 8 2 1
Augsburg 11 1 2 8

Previous encounter:

Augsburg 1-3 Borussia Dortmund (20/03/16) Bundesliga

Augsburg goalscorers: A. Finnbogason (’16)
Dortmund goalscorers: H. Mkhitaryan (’45), G. Castro (’69), A. Ramos (’75)

Players to watch:

Ousmane Dembélé will definitely be a key player to look out for on Tuesday evening. The teenage forward has hit the ground running in Germany since his €15 million off-season move from Rennes and has looked unplayable at times.

Pace, trickery and an eye for goal, the 19-year-old France international has fit seamlessly into Thomas Tuchel’s side and effectively replaced Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the club’s assist machine.

His ability to run at pace with the ball and comfort with it on either foot, makes Dembélé so dangerous and unpredictable in Tuchel’s new 3-4-3 formation – 12 assists and four goals in 23 games highlights his importance to the team.

Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) December 19, 2016
Martin Hinteregger didn’t put a foot wrong during Augsburg’s 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday and popped up with the winner in the second half.

The Austrian centre-back has been an ever-present figure under manager Manuel Baum this season and has hit a bit of form coming into the festive period.

His reading of the game, positional sense and aerial ability will no doubt be tested against BVB, and if they are to leave the Signal Iduna Park with anything, the 24-year-old needs to marshal his back four – in the manner he’s been accustomed to over the past couple of games.

Team form and manager quotes:

Both clubs come into the fixture with a run of inconsistent form – Dortmund have two wins from their last five outings, while 12th-placed Augsburg have one win in five matches.

Die Schwarzgelben have the opportunity to move into third position with a win in front of their home fans.

Team news:

Marco Reus is ruled out after his red card against Hoffenheim. Nuri Sahin and Roman Burki remain out with long-term injuries.