Champions League
Surprise in midfield: This is how BVB goes into the duel with Bilbao
Updated on October 1st, 2025 – 7:56 p.m.Reading time: 1 min.
After the 4: 4 at the start of the “premier class” at Juventus Turin, Borussia Dortmund wants to win the first victory of the new European season. Now it is clear which eleven coach Niko Kovač wants to do that.
And the BVB has something to make up for. In the turbulent and in the end annoying 4: 4 at Juventus Turin at the start, the second in the table of the Bundesliga gave a safe lead in added time and had to be satisfied with one point. Something like that should not repeat itself against the Basque club Bilbao, in which, among other things, the European champion Nico Williams, who is courted by Bayern Munich in summer.
Ultimately, Kovač chose this starting line -up against the Spaniards:
The line -up in the center with Jobe Bellingham and Carney Chukwuemeka is particularly surprising.
After all: The mood at BVB is excellent after 13 competitive games in a row without defeat, now Bilbao should not be a stumbling block – after all, Dortmund has big goals.
“We have become really stable, have conceded significantly fewer goals and also score a lot of goals.” This can be proven in numbers: Kovač has conceded a point cut of 2.06 and his team conceded an average of 1.19 goals and scored 2.16. “Niko has blown the team that they have to defend,” said Kehl: “We are satisfied with the development. But we have not yet reached anything.”