Predicted Borussia Dortmund XI vs FC Köln: Raphaël Guerreiro to keep his place in midfield

Borussia Dortmund have an opportunity to go above Bayern Munich on Saturday evening when they host FC Köln in the Bundesliga Topspiel at the Signal Iduna Park, kick-off is at 18:30 local time.

Heading into the game, Edin Terzic kept his cards close to his chest when discussing his midfield options. Emre Can is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards and so we could expect to see Salih Özcan start against his former club. Raphaël Guerreiro is also an option in midfield and the Portugal international may even sign a contract extension beyond 2023 with Terzic favouring Guerriero in a midfield role. This would mean Julian Ryerson keeps his place at left-back.

Despite missing out on Hansi Flick’s Germany squad, Niklas Süle is expected to return in place of Mats Hummels, whilst Gregor Kobel is expected to start after missing Borussia Dortmund’s last three games.

Marco Reus, after missing the Revierderby against Schalke, is expected to return to the starting XI following an illness, which would mean Jamie Bynoe-Gittens drops to the bench. However, Saturday’s game against the Billy Goats is likely to come too soon for Julian Brandt.

Predicted Borussia Dortmund XI vs FC Köln

Gregor Kobel – Marius Wolf, Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck, Julian Ryerson – Salih Özcan – Donyell Malen, Jude Bellingham, Raphaël Guerreiro, Marco Reus – Sébastien Haller.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder