178 Goals in 49 games, 108 of which for the Black and Yellows: The duels between “09” and “96” were for the most part loaded with goals and drama. There has never been a 0-0 between these two teams. The only fixture that has been played more often without ever resulting in a no-score draw is that between Frankfurt and Leverkusen. Everything you need to know is presented right here! 

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Hummels et al won the away game 4:2 earlier this season.

How Things Stand: Second against last in the table. BVB have won five of the last six meetings with Hannover and have only failed to score in one of their last 20 matches against them – a 0-1 loss at home last season.

Home and Away: Borussia Dortmund have won 12 of their last 13 Bundesliga home games (the last defeat came against Bayern Munich on 4 April), have scored at least twice against their opposition in these 13 matches, and have only lost points this season in the 2-2 draw against Darmstadt. No team has lost more often on the road than Hannover 96. They lost their last four away games in a row, making a total of 6 away defeats. Their last away victory came on 1 November 2015, a 2-1 in Hamburg.

Personnel: Bender (back in training) and Sahin (fitness) will not be included in the match-day squad.  Hannover are missing Sorg (twisted knee), Andreasen (bruised bone), Benschop (knee operation), Hugo Almeida (back), Wolf (not match fit due tendon damage), Schulz (stomach infection) and Szalai (tendon damage).

Head to Head: After winning 5 home games in a row against Hannover, Borussia lost 0-1 against them in last year’s ‘crisis’ season. This brought Borussia’s total number of home losses against 96 to four.  There has never been a 0-0 between these teams. Only Frankfurt and Leverkusen have played more games against one another in which there has always been at least one goal scored.

The Stats: Borussia Dortmund have lost only one of their last seven league games (on 19 December 2015, 1-2 in Cologne), while Hannover have lost their last six games, and eight of their last nine. The Lower Saxons have only scored in one of their last five games (a 1-2 on 23 January against Darmstadt). BVB remain the top scoring team in the league, having scored 52 times, and as such, have already found the back of the net more often than in the entire 14/15 season (47).

Best Home Win: The fixture finished 6-2 for Borussia on 18 October 2003. Ewerthon and Koller both bagged themselves a brace for BVB, while Ricken and Kehl got one apiece.

Attendance: Notwithstanding 500 seats still free in the away end, the Signal Iduna Park is sold-out.

Referee: Günter Perl (46, Munich) will officiate a BVB game for the first time since December 2014 (a 0-1 defeat in Berlin) – his 24th in the Bundesliga.

Compiled by Boris Rupert.