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Borussia Dortmund will go head-to-head with Athletic Club in a pre-season friendly scheduled to take place on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund lost their previous game 3-1 against VFL Bochum. Marco Pasalic scored the only goal for Marco Rose's side, who conceded three goals in the span of 12 minutes.
Dortmund finished the 2020-21 Bundesliga in third place, and Rose will be tasked with either improving upon or at least ensuring a similar result in the upcoming season.
There will be expectations from the side to perform in the UEFA Champions League as well, a competition in which they bowed out at the quarter-finals stage last time around.
Meanwhile, Athletic Club are coming off a 1-0 win over Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev. Bilbao will have to negotiate playing two games in one day, as they are also scheduled to play Mirandes before the game against Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Club Head-to-Head
Borussia Dortmund have played just one game against Athletic Club. Bilbao won that game 1-0, as Markel Susaeta's first-half strike settled the match.
Borussia Dortmund form guide: W-W-W-W-L
Athletic Club form guide: L-L-L-L-W
Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Club Team News
Borussia Dortmund
Dan Axel Zagadou is still recuperating from a knee injury he suffered back in March. Mateu Bauza is out with a cruciate ligament injury, while Soumaila Coulibaly won't be available because of a cruciate ligament rupture.
Injured: Dan Axel Zagadou, Mateu Bauza and Soumaila Coulibaly
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Athletic Club
Defensive midfielder Peru Nolaskoain is out with an ankle injury. All other players will be available for selection.
Injured: Peru Nolaskoain
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Club Predicted XI
Borussia Dortmund predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Gregor Kobel; Felix Passlack, Lennard Maloney, Antonios Papadopoulos, Nico Schulz; Julian Brandt, Mahmoud Dahoud; Marius Wolf, Marco Reus, Giovanni Reyna
Athletic Club predicted XI (4-4-2): Jugen Agirrezabala; Alex Petxa, Daniel Vivian, Inigo Martinez, Mikel Balenziaga; Benat Prados, Unai Vencedor, Alex Berenguer, Iker Muniain; Raul Garcia, Asier Villalibre
Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Club Prediction
Since it is a pre-season friendly game, both teams are expected to field relatively inexperienced sides.
Dortmund hold the upper hand going into the game considering they have multiple match-winners in the team, including Marco Reus and Julian Brandt. We expect Borussia Dortmund to come out on top in this contest.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Athletic Club
