German Bundesliga

Dortmund against Leverkusen from 20.30 LIVE

Marcel Sabitzer

(Bild: AFP/APA/Ronny Hartmann)

Matchday 16 in the German Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund face Bayer Leverkusen. The game kicks off at 8.30pm and we will be reporting live (ticker below).

Here is the live ticker:

Borussia Dortmund have to deliver at the start of the new year in the German Bundesliga, but the kick-off could hardly be more difficult. In the first game after the short winter break, BVB host double winners Bayer Leverkusen today. Coach Nuri Sahin, who is still worried about the participation of Marcel Sabitzer, does not see the game as a threat, but as an opportunity - at least publicly.

Nuri Sahin

(Bild: AFP/APA/NICOLAS TUCAT)

"I'm happy that it's against Leverkusen, it's a top game and a yardstick," said the 36-year-old. Sahin's hope: a win should boost self-confidence and get BVB into a "flow". However, there are personnel worries. Sabitzer is questionable due to a calf blister, Niklas Süle is injured and fellow central defender Waldemar Anton was recently absent through illness. DFB international Pascal Groß is also suspended.

Dortmund cannot afford a false start, as the club has missed too many games in the first half of the season. 25 points and sixth place after 15 games are clearly too few for their own standards. A defeat would be a serious setback in the race for the minimum goal of qualifying for the Champions League and could immediately create a crisis atmosphere again.

Landmark games for BVB
Borussia face direct rivals in the battle for a place in the top flight against Leverkusen and a week later at Eintracht Frankfurt. In the Champions League, Bologna and Donetsk will decide whether Dortmund advances directly to the round of 16 or has to play in the play-offs.

The additional matches are to be avoided at all costs in view of the tight schedule, which also includes the Club World Cup in the summer. First, however, the focus is on the restart in the league. "A win would be extremely important for the table, because it would also bring us closer against a top opponent," said Sahin.

Leverkusen are currently what BVB would like to be: first in the Bayern chase and halfway within striking distance of the leaders from Munich. A win would see coach Xabi Alonso's team, unbeaten since the second round, move to within one point of the record champions, at least temporarily. Dortmund could climb to third place with three points.