Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund
Florian Niederlechner and Augsburg know all too well it'll take something very special to stop Jadon Sancho and Borussia Dortmund quiet at the WWK-Arena on Saturday
(kick-off: 3.30pm CEST/ 2.30pm BST/9.30am ET).
Niederlechner scored two of his team-leading 13 Bundesliga goals in last season's corresponding fixture.
Augsburg led Dortmund 2-0 and 3-1, only to end up on the receiving end of a 5-3 defeat in what was one of the standout games of the campaign.
Die Függerstädter lost influential left-back Philipp Max in the summer, but will have been encouraged by the nature of their opening-day win at Union Berlin.
With ex-Union goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz installed between the posts, experienced summer signing Daniel Caligiuri taking up a position on the right-hand flank and forward Michael Gregoritsch brought back in from the cold following a misfiring loan stint with Schalke, Heiko Herrlich began his first full campaign as Augsburg coach with a 3-1 success.
Injury-ravaged striker Alfred Finnbogason - who hit double figures in 2017/18 and 2018/19 - was involved in the second half, but will likely have to settle for a starting place among the substitutes once again.
Forwards Noah Sarenren Bazee and Marco Richter are also back in the squad and available after a full week of training.
Dortmund made light work of Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend, thanks in no small part to Sancho. The England international set up Erling Haaland's second goal at the Signal Iduna Park, just as he chimed in with the assist for the Norwegian to complete a Bundesliga debut hat-trick against Augsburg back in January. American teenager Gio Reyna was also among the goals, his maiden Bundesliga strike justifying his inclusion in Lucien Favre's starting line-up ahead of club captain Marco Reus, who is being steadily reintroduced into the first-team fold following a seven-month absence through injury. Reus can expect to make a third successive appearance off the bench - he made a scoring cameo as Dortmund beat Duisburg 5-0 in the DFB Cup first round a fortnight ago - with Sancho and Reyna set to continue in behind Haaland. Felix Passlack enjoyed his first Bundesliga outing for three years in the 3-0 triumph over Gladbach, but Raphael Guerreiro has since returned to team training and should slot straight back in for the injured Thorgan Hazard on the left flank.
Watch: Relive Erling Haaland's debut hat-trick in Augsburg
Match stats
Augsburg have conceded more Bundesliga goals against Dortmund (48) than any other Bundesliga club.
Herrlich spent nine years at Dortmund as a player, winning two Bundesliga titles.
Gregoritsch, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Schalke, ended a run of 13 Bundesliga matches without a goal last time out. It was his first league strike for Augsburg since 11 May 2019.
Dortmund beat Augsburg 5-1 at home and 5-3 away last season.
Haaland came off the bench to score a 20-minute hat-trick in the latter fixture. He was 19 at the time, and still ranks as the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score three times in one match.
Reyna became the 11th youngest scorer in Bundesliga history with his effort against Gladbach, aged 17 years, 10 months and six days.
Probable line-ups
Augsburg: Gikiewicz - Framberger, Gouweleeuw (c), Uduokhai, Iago - Caligiuri, Khedira, Gruezo, Vargas - Gregoritsch, Niederlechner
Doubtful: Löwen (knock)
Out: Moravek (muscular)
Coach: Heiko Herrlich
Dortmund: Bürki - Can, Hummels (c), Akanji - Meunier, Bellingham, Witsel, Guerreiro - Sancho, Reyna - Haaland
Doubtful: -
Out: Hazard (muscular), Morey (thigh), Piszczek (back), Schmelzer (knee), Schulz (calf), Zagadou (knee)
Coach: Lucien Favre
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