Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund – Bundesliga Preview

Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund – Saturday, October 28, 14:30 BST/15:30CEST – HDI-Arena, Hannover.

Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund will take place at the HDI Arena in Hannover. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Borussia Dortmund’s 5-0 victory against Liga 3 opponent 1.FC Magdeburg in the second round of the DFB Pokal Borussia Dortmund seem to have overcome their early-season slump already. Although anything less than a victory against the second placed team in Germany’s third division would have been a surprise, it was the manner in which Dortmund overcame Magdeburg that was impressive. Missing the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Dortmund fielded young striker Alexander Isak, who had a phenomenal game as Dortmund easily sliced Magdeburg apart showing the sort of efficiency that was lacking in Borussia’s play of late.

With Dortmund reaching the round of 16 in comfortable fashion talk about head coach Peter Bosz’s system having been found out will, for now, be put on the shelf. At the same time, the key for the Yellow and Blacks will be to follow up a convincing result against Magdeburg with three points in the Bundesliga. In fact, this could be a decisive weekend for Borussia Dortmund.

The club’s two closest rivals for the title Bayern München and RB Leipzig will be playing the second of two games on Saturday night at the Allianz Arena. Both teams already faced each other in round two of the DFB Pokal on Wednesday in a match that went the full distance showing that Dortmund’s rivals are on even footing at the moment. Another physical encounter between the two and with one, or both teams, losing critical points Dortmund can open a bit of a gap on top of the table once again.

In their way will be a Hannover 96 side that has surprised many Bundesliga experts this season. Following matchday 9 Hannover are sixth in the table with 15 points and have outperformed fellow promoted side VfB Stuttgart, who by many were deemed one of the possible surprise teams of the season. Head coach André Breitenreiter has his side play from a solid backline surprising teams by playing quick counterattacks. A good tactician Breitenreiter is the sort of coach, who could hurt Dortmund’s high pressing game.

This will, therefore, be an interesting encounter. Given that Dortmund seem back on track up front and can also rely on the return of the likes of Raphaël Guerreiro and André Schürlle the Yellow and Black will most certainly be the favourites to take all three points at the HDI-Arena

Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund – Player to look out for:

Ihlas Bebou #13 – Hannover 96

Ihlas Bebou is one of the most interesting players to have emerged in the Bundesliga this season. The national team player of Togo was signed by Hannover from Fortuna Düsseldorf for €5 million. Bebou moved to Germany in 2004 and played for Garather SV and VfB 03 Hilden before making a move to Fortuna’s youth academy in 2011. In 2013 he finally made his professional debut, but it was not until last season that he burst on the scene exciting scouts with his pace and his direct approach towards the opposition’s goal. A dynamic player the sky is the limit for the 23-year-old, who could in the long-term become a target for Europe’s top clubs.

Ihlas Bebou has been a fantastic addition for Hannover 96. (Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Alexander Isak #14 – Borussia Dortmund

Quickly labelled the next Zlatan Ibrahimović when first signed by Borussia Dortmund the young Swedish striker with roots in Eritrea has taken his time to make an impact in Dortmund’s first team. In fact, the hype around his signing may have been a bit too much for the then 17-year-old striker, who was very impressive in his native Sweden. A very different player from Ibrahimović Isak needed time, and more importantly trust, to develop. Dortmund offered him the first, but Thomas Tuchel was initially been against the signing, and the former head coach never gave the young star the trust needed. Now under Bosz the cards have been newly mixed, and Isak impressed in his start against Magdeburg. Aubameyang could miss the game against Hannover due to an injury in which case Isak will be the leading the attacking line.

Alexander Isak was impressive against Magdeburg. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund – Match Stats

• Dortmund has scored at least one goal in the last 22 games against Hannover
• It is Dortmund’s longest goalscoring streak away from home.
• Roman Bürki (five clean sheets) and Philipp Tschauner (four clean sheets) top the clean sheet category in the Bundesliga.
• Dortmund, Hannover and Bayern top the table when it comes to fewest goals conceded (7).
• Hannover’s home record against Borussia Dortmund is W7 D7 L11

Prediction: Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund – 0-4

Hannover vs Borussia Dortmund – Possible Lineups

Hannover 96

Formation: 4-2-2-2

Tschauner – Korb, Anton, Sané, Albornoz – Schwegler, Bakalorz – Bebou, Klaus – Harnik, Jonathas

Head Coach: André Breitenreiter

Borussia Dortmund

Formation: 4-3-3

Bürki – Bartra, Sokratis, Zagadou, Schmelzer – Götze, Sahin, Kagawa – Yarmolenko, Aubameyang (Isak), Philipp

Head Coach: Peter Bosz

Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and social media editor at Bundesliga.com. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which will be available in print soon. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.