Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund - prediction, team news, lineups

The Bundesliga returns after the international break on Saturday and one of the highlight matches of the weekend sees Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena.

Two of the European hopefuls for this season have started fairly brightly and find themselves in second and fifth place respectively.

Match preview

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The international break came at a bad time for Leverkusen, as they started the new season very strongly under new manager Gerardo Seoane.

After arriving from Swiss side Young Boys in the summer, the Swiss manager has begun with three wins and a draw in his first four matches in charge in all competitions.

This run includes wins in their last two Bundesliga matches and eight goals scored in the process.

A stunning 4-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Borussia Monchengladbach at BayArena was followed by another strong showing with a 4-1 victory away to Augsburg last time out before the break.

Although neither game has seen Leverkusen dominate the play and hammer their opponents in terms of chances, they have at least displayed that cutting edge and clinical touch in front of goal.

If Seoane's side can pick up that momentum and form from where they left off, then there could be another thrilling encounter on Saturday between these two sides.

This is because the last nine meetings between the two have seen an astonishing total of 43 goals scored. Encouragingly for the hosts, the home side has won each of the last five encounters.

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For the visitors, their new campaign has been bright in terms of their play in the final third, but it has been the other end of the pitch where they have suffered so far.

Scoring 13 goals in the opening five competitive matches in all competitions is certainly a positive note, but also conceding nine during this time is a worrying trend that has restricted Dortmund's title chances in recent years too.

A 3-1 defeat to champions Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup in the middle of August was followed by a 2-1 loss away to Freiburg in their penultimate match before the break.

These are another two continuous worrying trends for BVB in the new season - struggles to perform against Bayern, and damaging defeats to mid-table opponents.

However, this weekend's visitors did manage to bounce back before the players headed off to their national teams - beating Hoffenheim 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park.

The match was a perfect display of Dortmund's characteristics, in terms of their devastating threat going forward, their defensive struggles to hold on to leads, but also the character in the squad to find late winners - as Erling Braut Haaland managed to do yet again in the 91st minute.

Team News

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The crazy COVID-19 situation in South America has caused problems throughout football during this international break. Leverkusen are no different, as trio Charles Aranguiz, Exequiel Palacios and youngster Piero Hincapie will miss out due to quarantine rules upon their return to Germany.

Julian Baumgartlinger (knee), Timothy Fosu-Mensah (knee) and Edmond Tapsoba (ankle) are all expected to be ruled out for the visit of Dortmund.

Forward Lucas Alario has yet to feature this season due to injury, and this match is expected to still come too soon for him.

Meanwhile, Dortmund's absence list is not shortening any time soon it appears.

Most of their defensive issues this season have been caused by injured first-teamers, particularly leader Mats Hummels. The German has only managed a 10-minute cameo substitute appearance so far this campaign but he is in contention to have a welcome return to central defence.

Makeshift centre-back Emre Can is definitely ruled out again, whilst fellow defenders Soumaila Coulibaly, Mateu Morey, Marcel Schmelzer and Dan-Axel Zagadou are all missing through knee injuries.

Giovanni Reyna returned from international duty early with a thigh problem and should miss the trip, whilst Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz are listed as doubtful.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Frimpong, Kossounou, Tah, Bakker; Andrich, Demirbay; Diaby, Wirtz, Paulinho; Schick

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Meunier, Hummels, Akanji, Guerreiro; Bellingham, Witsel, Brandt; Reus; Malen, Haaland

We say: Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Borussia Dortmund

Another entertaining encounter between these two top sides is to be expected on Saturday, with goals normally provided in abundance. We say Leverkusen will upset the current odds and edge out BVB due to their strong start to the season and their opponents' inconsistency, particularly away from home.