Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Ajax - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 4 August 2023, 09:37
Borussia Dortmund will endeavour to complete an unbeaten pre-season period when they host a waning Ajax side at the Westfalenstadion on Sunday afternoon.

Edin Terzic's side capped off a recent USA tour with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea, while their Dutch counterparts suffered a 3-1 loss to the hosts' Bundesliga rivals Augsburg on July 29.

Match preview

Last season's heartbreaking end to the Bundesliga campaign and inevitable transfer of Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid has only served as motivation for a goal-happy Borussia Dortmund side, who had won five friendlies on the bounce before tackling Chelsea in Chicago on Wednesday.

Westfalia Rhynern, Rot-Weiss Oberhausen, Rot-Weiss Erfurt, San Diego Loyal and Manchester United had all fallen to BVB's superiority earlier this summer, and Terzic's side were on course for a sixth successive win when Marius Wolf drew first blood against Chelsea in the 80th minute, but the Blues responded in the dying embers through Mason Burstow.

Dortmund may have failed to complete their revenge mission over Chelsea following last season's Champions League exit, but Terzic should only feel immense pride with his side's efforts during the exhibition period, which draws to a close with Sunday's visit of Ajax.

The Black and Yellows restart their competitive duties in the DFB-Pokal, as a trip to minnows Schott Mainz awaits in the first round on August 12, before their next quest for Bundesliga glory kicks off at home to FC Koln seven days later.

While previous stalwarts such as Bellingham, Raphael Guerreiro, Mahmoud Dahoud and Nico Schulz have all departed to take on new adventures, Dortmund's marquee arrivals include Marcel Sabitzer, Ramy Bensebaini and Felix Nmecha, but Ajax's preparatory period has not been as joyful.

Still struggling to adapt to life without Erik ten Hag at the helm, the 36-time Eredivisie champions lost their grip on the Dutch top-flight crown last term, labouring to a third-placed finish behind PSV Eindhoven and current holders Feyenoord with 69 points to their name.

The Alfred Schreuder experiment did not bear fruit for Ajax, and while former defender John Heitinga oversaw an immediate period of improvement upon his appointment, the Amsterdam giants won just four of their last nine Eredivisie games to settle for a spot in the Europa League playoff round.

Now under the wing of Maurice Steijn - who came agonisingly close to leading Sparta Rotterdam to a place on the continent last season - Ajax opened their pre-season campaign in respectable fashion, drawing 2-2 with Den Bosch before putting three goals past Shakhtar Donetsk without reply.

However, Steijn's side have since gone down 3-0 to Anderlecht and 3-1 to Augsburg either side of a 5-3 triumph over SpVgg Unterhaching, although they have been handed a relatively kind opening Eredivisie match at home to Heracles Almelo on August 12.

The visitors' record against Dortmund makes for pleasant reading, though, as Ajax have prevailed in four of their six previous Champions League clashes with BVB, including a pair of 4-0 and 3-1 wins during the 2021-22 group stage before their dismal downfall.

Borussia Dortmund friendly form:

W

W

W

W

W

D

Ajax friendly form:

D

W

L

W

L

Team News

Dortmund returned home from their USA tour with several bumps and bruises, and Terzic has now lost right-back Thomas Meunier to a serious muscular injury, which will render him unavailable for several weeks.

First-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel also sat out the draw with Chelsea due to a minor issue, which may threaten his participation in Sunday's game, and the same can be said for Nico Schlotterbeck, even though scans on a suspected knee problem provided reassuring results.

Julien Duranville (muscle), Giovanni Reyna (ankle) and Mateu Morey (muscle) represent another trio of injury concerns for a depleted BVB, who should offer home debuts to all of Bensebaini, Sabitzer and Nmecha here.

Similarly, Ajax also had to navigate their recent defeat to Augsburg without a number of recognisable names, including Steven Berghuis and the in-demand Mohammed Kudus, both of whom are nursing knocks.

Remko Pasveer (hand fracture), Ahmetcan Kaplan (knee), Kian Fitz-Jim (ankle) and Amourricho van Axel Dongen (knock) are also recuperating from their various concerns, while Jurrien Timber, Calvin Bassey and Dusan Tadic have left for pastures new.

Meanwhile, Mexican duo Edson Alvarez and Jorge Sanchez are yet to return from their Gold Cup exertions with Mexico, but it remains to be seen if the former is still an Ajax player when the transfer window slams shut.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Meyer; Wolf, Sule, Hummels, Bensebaini; Ozcan, Sabitzer; Malen, Reus, Adeyemi; Haller

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Rulli; Rensch, Aertssen, Hato, Wijndal; Van den Boomen, Klaassen; Daramy, Taylor, Bergwijn; Brobbey

We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Ajax

Despite an unenviable list of injuries, Dortmund have been firing on all cylinders in pre-season and should have little trouble asserting their dominance on home soil this weekend.

Previews by email

Top News

25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur defender Sergio Reguilon is allegedly hoping to agree to the mutual termination of his contract. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim will look to claim his first win as Manchester United head coach when his side welcome Bodo/Glimt to Old Traffordfor Thursday's Europa League contest. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been accused of 'thinking about himself' by fellow club legend Jamie Carragher. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk On matchday five of the Champions League, Dinamo Zagreb will welcome inconsistent Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund to Stadion Maksimir on Wednesday. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Jamie Carragher has revealed he's been left 'very disappointed' by Mohamed Salah after he delivered a huge Liverpool contract update. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has revealed he played over an hour with a broken ankle against Manchester City. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Austrian champions Sturm Graz are set to welcome Spanish side Girona to Worthersee Stadion on Wednesday in their fifth Champions League fixture of the season. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Curtis Jones currently tops an important midfield metric thanks to an impressive season with Liverpool thus far. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Millwall will look to extend their eight-game unbeaten run when they travel to Fratton Park for Wednesday's Championship clash with Portsmouth. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk No doubt one of the most eagerly-awaited battles of the 2024-25 Champions League, six-time winners Liverpool and 15-time champions Real Madrid collide in Wednesday's mouthwatering Anfield showdown. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to return to winning ways when they host Brest in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich will welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Allianz Arena in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk At risk of a scarcely believable sixth straight loss in all competitions, a wounded Manchester City take on Feyenoord in the Champions League league phase on Tuesday. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fresh from a first Premier League victory in weeks, Arsenal's next Champions League quest on Tuesday night sees them visit a Sporting Lisbon side who have won a staggering 14 home games on the spin. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to the Philips Stadion on matchday five of the Champions League this wednesday. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Strong starters Monaco welcome an in-form Benfica side to the Stade Louis II on matchday five of the Champions League on Wednesday night. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly included defender Kieran Tierney in their travelling squad for Tuesday night's Champions League clash at Sporting Lisbon. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Luka Modric has named a star-studded six-a-side team of footballing legends but there's no room for Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City's Champions League encounter with Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday is "a must-win for many reasons", Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have received a double injury boost ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Feyenoord at the Etihad. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Resuming their debut Champions League campaign, Aston Villa will tackle Serie A giants Juventus on Wednesday evening, when Unai Emery must make a couple of big selection calls. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Istanbul Basaksehir and Petrocub Hincesti are winless in this season's Conference League heading into Wednesday's matchday four encounter at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reeling after a run of five consecutive defeats, an unprecedented run of poor form under manager Pep Guardiola, who watched his team suffer a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last weekend. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reeling after a run of five consecutive defeats, an unprecedented run of poor form under manager Pep Guardiola, who watched his team suffer a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last weekend. 25 November 2024 talksport.com A non-league side have been able to see the funny side after their pitch was left underwater by Storm Bert. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal are reportedly prepared to reject any offers for William Saliba, who is attracting interest from Real Madrid. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Premier League clubs are not renowned for their patience when firing managers, and we've just had our second sacking of 2024/25. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Liverpool have the chance to go 11 points clear of Premier League champions Manchester City when the two sides meet this weekend. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reportedly involved in the race for the services of Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, with Chelsea keen on the player. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Turkish giants Besiktas are reportedly interested in signing Fulham winger Adama Traore in the January transfer window.