Sabah FK vs Borussia Dortmund Preview: Can the BVB arrest their downward spiral?
A struggling Borussia Dortmund side fly to Azerbaijani capital of Baku today as they take on Sabah FK for matchday three in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
The pressure is firmly on the BVB here after three winless games post the international break, including a 1-0 loss to Bodo/Glimt in their last European outing.
It has left them down in 18th place of the Champions League table with three points from two games, and need to find their feet to climb up into the direct knockout spots again.
As for Sabah FK, the Azeri side's competitive debut has produced mixed results so far. Manchester United dealt them a baptism of fire on matchday one with a clinical 4-0 defeat.
In their next game, their first on home turf, Sabah beat Czech side Slavia Praha 2-0 for their first official win in Europe's premier club tournament.
Against a sputtering Dortmund side, the Owls will be aiming for their first big Champions League scalp.
Sabah FK vs Borussia Dortmund Team News
The Azeri side are in a fine fettle right now with their entire squad available for selection. Aleksey Isayev is gunning for a starting berth after his heroics off the bench against Gabala, netting twice in their commanding 4-0 victory in the Azeri top-flight.
As for Dortmund, neither Emre Can nor Giannis Konstantelias are expected to return before the 2027 as both players continue their recovery from an ACL injury. Justin Lerma is also out, having sustained a muscle injury.
Nico Schlotterbeck, rested last week for the Norway trip, returns to the matchday squad but Konstantinos Karetsas misses out after twisting his ankle against Union Berlin. Enzo Duarte has been called up for the first time in the Champions League this season. The Luxembourg international had missed the Villarreal game with an injury before getting omitted from their squad for the Bodo/Glimt visit.
Sabah FK vs Borussia Dortmund Predicted Lineups
Sabah FK's probable XI: Stas Pokatilov; Akim Zedadka, Steve Solvet, Aden McCarthy, Tymoteusz Puchacz; Umarali Rahmonliev, Ivan Lepinjica; Kaheem Parris, Du Queiroz, Veljko Simic; Joy-Lance Mickels.
Borussia Dortmund's probable XI: Gregor Kobel; Joane Gadou, Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck; Julian Ryerson, Jobe Bellingham, Daniel Svensson; Ethan Nwaneri, Marcel Sabitzer; Serhou Guirassy.
Sabah FK vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction
Dortmund's ongoing struggles would give Sabah hope to pull off a surprise here, but we're going to be optimistic and hope that they will be able to pull off a win here, albeit by the smallest of margins.
Prediction: Sabah FK 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
