Really? "Some guy nobody has heard of?" The guy has two caps for Germany man. 13 Germany U21 caps and once upon a time was considered one of Germany's top central defensive prospects.
Bayern's form is no better than Dortmund's at the moment imo. Sure they destroyed those three teams in the space of a week but they have been getting by lately, especially in the league. They barely beat Hannover, Nurnberg, and Augsburg, all in their last three matches. Though if Dortmund lose this game, it may well pay the price of losing the title because there will only be four games left and you'd fancy Bayern with their experience to be able to see them through and become champions. It won't be a must-win, but it will be a must-not lose on Wednesday. Wouldn't be surprised to see Owomoyela and Grosskreutz start if the intention is to be more cautious and try to hit Bayern on the counter, like in Munich a few months ago. I haven't heard much about it, but is Gotze going to be able to start this? This would be my lineup if Gotze can't start the match; Weidenfeller Piszczek - Hummels - Subotic - Schmelzer Bender - Kehl - Gundogan Blaszcykowski --------------------- Grosskreutz Lewandowski It would be sending a bad message to Kagawa if he was to be left out of a potentially title deciding game, but this would be best for the team in my opinion IF the plan is to be conservative and hit on the break.
Love these comments. I wouldn't say Lewandowski "continued his fantastic run" rather than "he found it again." Anyhow, it was good to see as we need him at his previous form to have any chance against Bayern......
Agree with this. Agree with this too. I'll happily accept a draw, but of course, would rather win. I can't think of any circumstance short of Piszczek getting injured, sick or suspended where Owomoyela would start this match........ This team can play conservatively with the same 11 that's been starting all this time. If you know anything about Jürgen Klopp, you know he's not going to change his lineup to play an opponent more conservatively. I also don't think he's in any fear of Bayern. He's not going to change the way his team plays just because the opponent is Bayern. I think he's going to do what we've done these last three times we've played Bayern. Yes, we played more conservatively, but we did it with the same 11 and the same formation. That will not change. Whether Götze can play or not. Honestly, I don't want Götze playing if he isn't ready........
That's pretty much how we've beaten them before. Not as simply as not attacking and waiting to counter. We don't do that. But we do take advantage of their mistakes and our offense does step back a bit.
Maybe I didn't read enough messages on this thread, but did anyone point out that the first two BVB goals were largely the result of some good work by Kagawa??? Perisic and Kuba might get the official "assists", but those two plays don't go anywhere without some good work from Kagawa.
”Bild” Player Ratings & Data For VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund VfL Wolfsburg: Benaglio (3) – Träsch (5), Madlung (4), Felipe (5), Rodriguez (4) – Josué (5), Polak (4) – Dejagah (3), Schäfer (4) - Helmes (4), Mandzukic (3) VfL Wolfsburg Substitutes: 46th Minute: Vierinha (Not Rated) for Helmes 54th Minute: Jiracek (Not Rated) for Josué 80th Minute: Sio (Not Rated) for Träsch VfL Wolfsburg Unused Reserve Players: Hitz (GK), Russ, Hasebe, Jönsson Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller (2) - Piszczek (3), Subotic (3), Hummels (2), Schmelzer (4) - Gündogan (1), Kehl (3) - Kuba (3), Kagawa (3), Perisic (3) - Lewandowski (1) Borussia Dortmund Substitutes: 69th Minute: Grosskreutz (Not Rated) for Perisic 81st Minute: Leitner (Not Rated) for Kagawa 87th Minute: Owomoyela (Not Rated) for Kuba Borussia Dortmund Unused Reserve Players: Langerak (GK), Löwe, Bender, Barrios Goals: 0-1 – Lewandowski (22nd Minute – Assist: Perisic) 0-2 – Gündogan (49th Minute – Assist: Kuba) 1-2 - Mandzukic (61st Minute – Assist: Dejagah) 1-3 – Lewandowski (90th Minute – Unassisted) Referee – Christian Dingert: No comments from ”Bild” Yellow Cards: VfL Wolfsburg: Dejagah (6th of the season) Borussia Dortmund: Subotic (7th), Kehl (7th) (each 5th yellow card in a season draws a one-match suspension) Red Cards: VfL Wolfsburg: Madlung (drew second yellow card of match/84th minute) Borussia Dortmund: None "Bild" Match Data: Average Player Rating: VfL Wolfsburg: 3.92 - Borussia Dortmund: 2.67 Average Player Age: VfL Wolfsburg: 26.11 - Borussia Dortmund: 24.63 Corners Won: VfL Wolfsburg: 6 - Borussia Dortmund: 6 Shots At Goal: VfL Wolfsburg: 9 - Borussia Dortmund: 12 Battles For The Ball Won: VfL Wolfsburg: 49.47% (94) - Borussia Dortmund: 50.52% (96) Ball Possession: VfL Wolfsburg: 46.67% - Borussia Dortmund: 53.33%
”kicker” Player Ratings & Data For VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund VfL Wolfsburg: Benaglio (3) – Träsch (4.5), Madlung (4), Felipe (4.5), Rodriguez (4) – Josué (5), Polak (3) – Dejagah (2.5), Schäfer (4) - Helmes (4), Mandzukic (3) VfL Wolfsburg Substitutes: 46th Minute: Vierinha (3.5) for Helmes 54th Minute: Jiracek (3.5) for Josué 80th Minute: Sio (Not Rated) for Träsch VfL Wolfsburg Unused Reserve Players: Hitz (GK), Russ, Hasebe, Jönsson Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller (2) - Piszczek (3), Subotic (3.5), Hummels (2.5), Schmelzer (4) - Gündogan (2), Kehl (3) - Kuba (2.5), Kagawa (3), Perisic (4) -Lewandowski (2) Borussia Dortmund Substitutes: 69th Minute: Grosskreutz (Not Rated) for Perisic 81st Minute: Leitner (Not Rated) for Kagawa 87th Minute: Owomoyela (Not Rated) for Kuba Borussia Dortmund Unused Reserve Players: Langerak (GK), Löwe, Bender, Barrios Goals: 0-1 – Lewandowski (22nd Minute – Assist: Perisic) 0-2 – Gündogan (49th Minute – Assist: Kuba) 1-2 - Mandzukic (61st Minute – Assist: Dejagah) 1-3 – Lewandowski (90th Minute – Unassisted) Referee – Christian Dingert (4): Dingert did a lot right in a match which was difficult to control. However, he should have awarded Dortmund a 4th minute penalty for Polak’s shoving of Kagawa in the Wolfsburg penalty area, should have sent off Madlung after 66 minutes for his foul on Lewandowski (2nd yellow) and should not have given an offside call which nullified a Kagawa chance in the 33rd minute. Yellow Cards: VfL Wolfsburg: Dejagah (6th of the season)[/green] Borussia Dortmund: Subotic (7th), Kehl (7th) (each 5th yellow card in a season draws a one-match suspension) Red Cards: VfL Wolfsburg: Madlung (drew second yellow card of match/84th minute) Borussia Dortmund: None kicker Match Data: Corners Won: VfL Wolfsburg: 6 - Borussia Dortmund: 6 Shots On Goal: VfL Wolfsburg: 7 - Borussia Dortmund: 9 Match Rating: 2.5 – An intense match in which Wolfsburg created drama with a better second-half performance. Spectators: 30,000 (Sold Out) Man of the Match: Ilkay Gündogan – Gündogan demonstrated his top form. Also scored a “dream goal.” Man of the Match Ilkay Gündogan celebrates his goal.