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Pre-Match Report

Countdown to Köln: Chukwuemeka in the starting XI

On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund will face 1. FC Köln. Kick-off is at 18:30 CEST. We have summarised all the information about our Bundesliga home game in a compact format. This page will be updated as soon as new information becomes available. 

Line-up: Four changes
Compared to the away win in Copenhagen, Niko Kovac makes four changes: Pascal Groß, Carney Chukwuemeka, Julian Ryerson and Karim Adeyemi replace Yan Couto, Jobe Bellingham, Julian Brandt and Maxi Beier.

This is the line-up: Kobel, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini, Nmecha, Guirassy, Groß, Chukwuemeka, Svensson, Ryerson, Adeyemi.

Referee: Benjamin Brand to officiate
The 36-year-old business economist from Gerolzhofen will referee the match. Thomas Stein and Marco Achmüller will be the assistant referees. Patrick Ittrich will be the fourth official. Pascal Müller has been assigned as the VAR. BVB's record under Benjamin Brand in the league: six wins – including a 3-2 away win in Cologne in February 2018 – and one draw.

Tickets: Last chance on the secondary market
The home match against 1. FC Köln is completely sold out. The visitors will be supported by over 8,000 travelling fans. The secondary market is open until 16:00 CEST on matchday. A few tickets are always available here. On the secondary market, ticket holders can legally offer their season tickets or day tickets for resale in the BVB ticket shop if they are unable to attend the match at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in person. Ticket holders do not have to hand over their individual tickets or season tickets, as the tickets can be electronically blocked and then reactivated. The secondary market is available for all sold-out home games.

Live broadcast: Sky and Netradio
The match will be broadcast live on Sky. Pre-match coverage begins at 17:30 CEST. Sebastian Hellmann will host the programme. Julia Simic and Lothar Matthäus will be on hand to provide their expert analysis. Wolff Fuss will be on commentary duties. BVB Netradio will be reporting through the usual Black & Yellow lens. The reporters are Norbert Dickel and Boris Rupert. BVB Netradio will start 15 minutes before kick-off. It can be accessed by everyone on the homepage and in the BVB app on iPhone and Android devices. A summary of the match, as well as the press conference and comments on the game, will be available on BVB TV, among other places.

Kits: BVB in Yellow & Black
Borussia Dortmund will play in their usual yellow jerseys with black shorts and yellow socks. Köln will play in red and white striped shirts with white shorts and white socks.

Weather: changeable and cool
The weather forecast for Saturday: After a wet day, the rainfall is expected to ease off somewhat towards the evening, with temperatures around eight degrees celsius.

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Transport: ticket included in ticket
This service from BVB and DSW21 remains unique in the Bundesliga: the admission ticket for SIGNAL IDUNA PARK is valid for travel to and from the stadium throughout the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This also applies to holders of plastic season tickets. Holders of a ‘Print@Home ticket’ or a ‘mobile ticket’ (e.g. Apple Wallet) must carry a ticket for public transport in addition to their admission ticket, which must be ordered free of charge online on this page.

Liveticker: over to the app
BVB's digital channels operate at full throttle on matchday. And that's not only the case during the match, but throughout the matchday too – starting at 09:09 CEST, of course. In "Matchday Mode", the BVB app (download) offers news, pictures, posts, videos, statistics and plenty more match info besides. The live ticker starts at kick-off and updates you on all the important moments. In addition to the live ticker, there will be full match highlights, statistics and first-hand info on our social media channels Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The match report plus reactions and facts will follow on the  website and on the app after the final whistle.

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