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

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Haaland and Reyna were given some extra time off following their international commitments with Norway and the USA respectively. Haaland was involved in a pair of June friendlies, while Reyna scored one and made another to help the US win the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League. Only "the American Dream" is in contention for Marco Rose's first game as head coach, though, with Haaland having returned to training this past Sunday. The game also comes too soon for the likes of Youssoufa Moukoko, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Mateu Morey, but captain Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and Mahmoud Dahoud are expected to be involved in some capacity. New goalkeeper Gregor Kobel is already in Dortmund after cutting short his post-UEFA Euro 2020 holiday, while midfielders Jude Bellingham and Thomas Delaney are among the players due back in the BVB camp towards the end of the month following their exploits in this summer's Euros.

While Dortmund finished third in last season's Bundesliga, won the DFB Cup and reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Gießen secured a third successive campaign of Regionalliga Südwest football, ranking 11th in Germany's 22-team fourth sub-division. Head coach Daniyel Cimen faced Dortmund as a German top-flight player with Eintracht Frankfurt circa 2005, but the fixture marks the Hesse outfit's first meeting with the five-time Bundesliga champions. Fittingly, there will be 4,000 spectators in attendance at the Waldstadion. With Tim Korzuschek having joined Saarbrücken after top scoring for Gießen with 10 goals last term, the onus will be on Ali Ibrahimaj to delight the partisan home crowd. The attacking midfielder - who has a handful of Bundesliga 2 appearances in a Sandhausen jersey to his name - chipped in with three goals and seven assists during the second half of 2020/21.

Match stats

Reyna registered four goals and six assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances last season - his first full campaign as a pro.

Haaland was the 2020/21 Bundesliga season's third-highest scorer on 27 goals. Having played in 28 games, he averaged a goal every 89 minutes.

Eleven Dortmund players, spread over six nations, were involved at this summer's Euros.

Rose took charge of 88 competitive matches in his two seasons as Borussia Mönchengladbach coach, overseeing fourth- and eighth-placed Bundesliga finishes.

Reus is embarking on his 10th season with the Dortmund senior team. He has tallied 140 goals and 96 assists in 315 appearances for the club.

There were 63 places on the German football pyramid between Dortmund and Gießen at the end of 2020/21.

Probable line-ups

Gießen: Lohe - Gaudermann, Reithmeir, Starostzik (c), Takehara - Ibrahimaj, Trkulja, Munn, Daghfous - Burgio, Itoi

Out: -

Doubtful: -

Coach: Daniyel Cimen

Dortmund: Hitz - Passlack, Collins, Coulibaly, Schulz - Gürpuz, Dahoud - Knauff, Reus (c), Brandt - Tigges

Out: Morey (knee), Moukoko (match fitness), Schmelzer (knee), Zagadou (knee)

Doubtful: -

Coach: Marco Rose