Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction
By Max Parsons
Borussia Dortmund host an enticing Bundesliga clash on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Signal Iduna Park.
Marco Rose's men are doing their best to sustain a title challenge behind Bayern Munich, sitting second and having won six of their previous nine Bundesliga fixtures. BVB bounced back well from a shock DFB-Pokal dumping at the hands of St. Pauli recently to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory at Hoffenheim last time out.
Aiming for their fourth consecutive league win, they host third-placed Bayer Leverkusen who have recently overcome a run of four games without a win by tasting victory in their last two, most recently thumping Augsburg 5-1.
Here's 90min's preview of what promises to be an intriguing match-up.
How to watch Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen on TV
When is kick off? Sunday 6 February, 14:30 (GMT)
Where is it being played? Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
What TV channel is it on? Sky Sports Mix (UK), ESPN+ (US)
Highlights? Sky Sports Football and Bundesliga YouTube channels
Borussia Dortmund team news
The major news for the hosts is that Erling Haaland looks to have suffered a groin injury and will likely miss out on Sunday's action, probably leaving Donyell Malen to lead the line in his absence.
Compiling that gargantuan blow are the certain absences of Emre Can, Mateu Morey and Marcel Schmelzer, while goalkeepers Roman Burki and Luca Unbehaun, as well as Thomas Meunier, are doubtful to feature.
Rose has confirmed USMNT playmaker Gio Reyna is back in action this weekend.
Bayer Leverkusen team news
New signing Sardar Azmoun represents a doubt after his arrival from Zenit St Petersburg in the final days of the January window, while Edmond Tapsoba will also likely miss out having been away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Burkina Faso.
Elsewhere, Julian Baumgartlinger, Exequiel Palacios, Paulinho and Daley Sinkgraven are all listed as doubts while second-choice goalkeeper Andrei Lunev is definitely out due to a ligament injury
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen head-to-head record
BVB edge the history of this fixture, racking up 41 victories compared to Leverkusen's 31 over the course of their 94 encounters - there have been 22 draws.
Something that's almost a certainty in this match-up are goals. In their previous four meetings, both sides have come away with 4-3 wins, while a 3-1 Dortmund triumph and a 2-1 Leverkusen victory make up the rest of their fixtures since the start of 2020 - unpredictable, to say the least.
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction
With Dortmund playing out a generally good season and Leverkusen recently enjoying an upturn in form, this one could realistically go either way.
Both sides enjoy attacking, and neither are too solid at the back; so, whatever the result, tune in for entertainment. The absence of Haaland will certainly play a part in proceedings but, even without the machine-like Norwegian, BVB represent plenty of creative and attacking danger to match their visitors' offensive quality.
It's a tough one to predict but, in the end, Dortmund will feel aggrieved not to bag a big win here - even if they concede two or three in the process.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen