Borussia Dortmund VS SV Elversberg

Borussia Dortmund take the pitch at their home ground, holding an unbeaten record across their opening 8 Bundesliga fixtures with 5 wins and 3 draws. Manager Kovac will deploy a 3-4-2-1 system, with top striker Serhou Guirassy sidelined by a right thigh strain. Fabio Silva will lead the front line, dropping deep to link attacking phases, while Carney Chukwuemeka and Carlo Carreras tuck in just behind the front two, with wing-backs Julian Ryerson and Marius Svensson pushing high up the flanks to overlap. Key midfielders Emre Can, Konstantin Lias and Lerma are all ruled out, while Marcel Sabitzer has only just returned to full fitness, leaving their attacking rotation options severely limited. They will heavily rely on wide cutback plays and set pieces to break down packed low defenses. Promoted side Elversberg make the long trip for this away tie, lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Their double pivot of Poreba and Kiddle anchors the midfield, with Ogechika Oneka operating as the central attacking midfielder, Krattenmacher and Petkov taking the two wide slots, and Mokwa leading the line. They demonstrated sharp attacking firepower in their recent 4-1 home win over Mainz, but have been kept scoreless across their last three away matches. With key defenders including Giarama sidelined through injury, their backline coordination easily collapses under high pressing pressure.