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Borussia Dortmund will look to end their Hinrunde campaign on a positive note as they host TSG Hoffenheim this weekend, in what will be the final Bundesliga matchday of 2017.
The black and yellows have had one of their worst Hinrunde campaigns in recent years this campaign. Having started the season in an impressive manner, Dortmund's season descended into chaos in the past couple of months.
In fact, the Ruhr giants registered their first league win since September when they breezed past Mainz in the midweek fixture. They will, however, be full of confidence after that win as they've looked significantly better under new boss Peter Stoger, albeit for just one game.
The former Koln boss has been tasked with the job of getting Dortmund's wretched season back on track, and ending their year on a positive note could be a vital factor in achieving that feat.
They will face TSG Hoffenheim, whose manager, Julian Nagelsmann, on the other hand, was among the special attendants during their clash with FSV Mainz in midweek.
The 30-year-old coaching sensation has been heavily linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund in recent weeks. Even though he denied such rumours, it'll undoubtedly be a special game for coach Julian Nagelsmann, who also seeks to end his side's 2017 campaign on a positive note.
Hoffenheim, just like their weekend opponents, haven't been in the best of forms either. Since their impressive win against Schalke in September, Julian Nagelsmann's troops have registered just four wins in 16 competitive games, which includes disappointing defeats against Freiburg, Hamburg and Hannover.
They also bowed out of their UEFA Europa League group earlier this month, after failing to finish in the top 2.
That being said, however, both teams are coming into this game, on the back of their midweek victories against their respective opponents, which makes it one of the more exciting fixtures to keep an eye on this weekend.
Team news
Borussia Dortmund will miss the bulk of their first team players this weekend. Superstars Mario Gotze and Marco Reus are sidelined due to long-term injuries as well as midfielder Gonzalo Castro and new signing Maximilian Philipp.
Defensive midfielder Sebastian Rode and key fullback Erik Durm are among the other absentees for the black and yellows. Earlier this week, just after the appointment of Peter Stoger, former Chelsea star Andre Schurrle also didn't travel with the team due to a suspected knock he picked up during training.
The German International remains a doubt to feature against Hoffenheim this Saturday.
As for Hoffenheim, they will also miss a few of their first-team superstars including Sandro Wanger. The former Bayern Munich striker has picked up an Achilles problem and might not feature against Dortmund this weekend.
Young midfielder Dennis Geiger and Hungarian star forward Adam Szalai will also miss the game due to their respective suspensions.
Predicted lineups
Borussia Dortmund (4-1-2-3): Roman Burki; Jeremy Toljan, Sokratis, Omer Toprak, Marcel Schmelzer; Julian Weigl; Shinji Kagawa, Raphael Guerreiro; Andriy Yarmolenko, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic
TSG Hoffenheim (3-5-2): Oliver Baumann; Kevin Agpoguma, Kevin Vogt, Benjamin Hubner; Pavel Kaderabek, Nadiem Amiri, Florian Grillitsch, Karim Demirbay, Steven Zuber; Serge Gnabry, Mark Uth.
Prediction
Dortmund 2:2 Hoffenheim
