Pre-Match Report
9 Facts That Give the Black and Yellows Hope for the Match Against the Swabians
01 | BVB Is Tough to Break Down
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two teams so far this young season has been their defensive play. While Borussia Dortmund has conceded only two goals in its first three Bundesliga matches, VfB Stuttgart has already let in eight. However, five of those eight goals came on the first matchday in Munich (1–5). This was followed by a 4–1 win over Cologne and a 1–2 loss at TSG Hoffenheim. The Black and Yellows are the only team in the league that has yet to allow an opponent a clear scoring chance. Stuttgart’s opponents have already had ten clear-cut chances.
02 | Set-Pieces
Goals for VfB usually come from open play; creative build-up is always the priority. Corners and free kicks play hardly any role. At 13 percent, the proportion of goals scored from set pieces last season was lower than for any other team. In 2025–26, BVB not only conceded the fewest goals in the league (34), but only ten of those came from set pieces (second-best in the league).
03 | Many Away Wins Since 2010
In their Bundesliga history, BVB has won more often at VfB (17 times) than at any other venue. Since 2010, there have been ten away wins, two draws, and three losses. Borussia failed to score in only one of its past 20 Bundesliga away games at VfB (a 0-2 loss in December 2023).
04 | BVB Is on a Roll
Three games, three wins, nine points. The last time BVB achieved such a haul after three matchdays was eleven years ago. Their best-ever starts came in the 2010s under coaches Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel (five wins each in the first five matchdays). Across all competitions, Niko Kovac’s team has won its last five official matches—always scoring at least two goals and, on three occasions, keeping a clean sheet.
05 | Speeding to the Top
With an average of 174 sprints per game, the Black and Yellow team ranks among the fastest teams in the league and even leads the league in high-intensity runs. When the Borussians find space after winning the ball, they can use their speed to quickly penetrate dangerous areas. At the same time, their defensive coverage is solid: BVB has allowed only one opponent shot on goal following a counterattack.
06 | Dortmund’s Bench
In six competitive matches, including the Super Cup, BVB has scored 17 goals. Substitutes have contributed to eight of those goals, with four goals and four assists each. In last weekend’s match against Paderborn (3–0), substitute Felix Nmecha sealed the victory with two goals following assists from fellow substitutes Maxi Beier and Marcel Sabitzer. There have never been more than the current six goal contributions by substitutes across three league matchdays since assists began being tracked. Just how valuable late contributions can be was also evident in the most recent away game in Stuttgart: On that occasion, BVB struck in stoppage time through substitutes Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi, taking home three points with a 2-0 victory.
07 | Westphalian Playmakers
BVB regularly creates promising scoring opportunities through their passing play and has capitalized on them efficiently so far. That bodes well against a Stuttgart defense that has allowed opponents numerous clear-cut chances in the opening weeks: Only Gladbach has a higher opponent xGoals value than Stuttgart (8.7).
08 | Kobel a Reliable Presence in Goal
Gregor Kobel was promoted to the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart in 2020 and transferred to Borussia Dortmund a year later. Last weekend, in the 3-0 win over SC Paderborn, he kept a clean sheet for the second time this season and the 72nd time overall in a competitive match for BVB. Since the club’s return to the top flight in 1976, only three BVB goalkeepers have recorded more clean sheets. Kobel is likely to surpass one of them this season.
| Games | Clean Sheets | |
| Roman Weidenfeller | 453 | 139 |
| Stefan Klos | 339 | 113 |
| Horst Bertram | 259 | 78 |
| Gregor Kobel | 221 | 72 |
| Wolfgang de Beer | 217 | 62 |
| Eike Immel | 280 | 61 |
| Jens Lehmann | 179 | 60 |
09 | Guirassy Is More Than Just a Number 9
For Serhou Guirassy, this match marks a return to his former stomping grounds. The forward is heading to Stuttgart in good form: After three Bundesliga matches, he has two goals and two assists to his credit. Not only does this put him at the top of BVB’s internal scoring leaderboard, but in addition to his ten shots on goal, he has also provided six assists.
Compiled by Boris Rupert
