Borussia Dortmund vs. Bologna: probable line-ups, match stats and LIVE blog!

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Having seen Jadon Sancho return to Manchester this summer, Dortmund this week brought 22-year-old Dutch forward Donyell Malen to the Signal Iduna Park. The Netherlands international scored 27 times in all competitions for PSV Eindhoven last season and will be given his first chance to impress in some capacity when Marco Rose's side meet Italian Serie A outfit Bologna. He will likely do so from the bench, with Ansgar Knauff, Marco Reus and Gio Reyna expected to operate from the start in support of last season's top-scorer Haaland, who has already promised yet more goals this time around. Having also made his first appearance for the club in Dortmund's 2-0 defeat to Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao, new man Gregor Kobel should keep goal from the off but he will not have Soumaila Coulibaly, Mats Hummels, Mateu Morey, Marcel Schmelzer or Dan-Axel Zagadou in front of him - all of whom miss out through knee injuries.

Bologna boss Sinisa Mihajlovic has been a busy man in pre-season, with Musa Barrow and Adama Soumaoro signed outright following successful loan moves, and Francesco Bardi following Kevin Bonifazi and Sydney Van Hooijdonk - son of former Dutch international Pierre - through the door at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. In Nicola Sansone and Roberto Soriano, Bologna have in their ranks two Italy internationals that were born in Germany and originally came through the ranks of Bayern Munich. Munich-native Sansone spent nine years at Bayern, three of which coincided with Darmstadt-born Soriano's spell at the record champions, although neither made a first-team appearance in Bavaria.

Match stats

Haaland scored 41 goals in 41 games last season, taking his Dortmund tally to 57 strikes in 59 appearances in all competitions since joining the club in January 2020.

Malen brought 19 league goals and eight assists from 32 outings to the table for PSV in 2020/21 as the team finished as runners-up to eventual Eredivisie champions Ajax.

Bologna coach Mihajlovic scored one and set up another in Red Star Belgrade's 2-2 European Cup semi-final second-leg draw with Bayern in 1990/91, as Red Star eventually went on to lift the trophy.

Sansone played 32 times and scored twice for Bayern's reserves, without making a senior appearance but he was named on the bench for the club's 4-2 win over Freiburg on Matchday 10 of the 2010/11 Bundesliga campaign.

Soriano, meanwhile, didn't graduate from the youth sides but did feature on 38 occasions and scored nine goals for Bayern's U17 and U19 teams.

These two sides have never met competitively, with FC Vorwärts Berlin the only German team to take on Bologna in a full fixture. Vorwärts emerged victorious over the Italians in the first round of the 1970/71 UEFA Cup.

Probable line-ups

Dortmund: Kobel - Passlack, Papadopoulos, Maloney, Schulz - Dahoud, Brandt - Knauff, Reus (c), Reyna - Haaland

Out: Bynoe-Gittens (ankle), Coulibaly (knee), Hummels (knee), Morey (knee), Schmelzer (knee), Wolf (ankle), Zagadou (knee)

Doubtful: -

Coach: Marco Rose

Bologna: Bardi - De Silvestri (c), Bonifazi, Soumaoro, Dijks - Schouten, Baldursson - Orsolini, Vignato, Sansone - Santander

Out: -

Doubtful: Barrow (not included)

Coach: Sinisa Mihajlovic