Borussia Dortmund play hosts to Bayer Leverkusen in a thrilling clash to get the Bundesliga back underway in 2025 on Friday evening. - © DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga

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Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Where the game may be won and lost

04.01.2025

With immense talent all over the park, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen will surely deliver an unmissable game to restart the Bundesliga after the winter break. bundesliga.com assesses some of the key players who could make all the difference to Friday's outcome.

Home comforts versus visiting strength

Friday night's big Bundesliga return fixture places one of the last remaining two sides who are unbeaten at home against the only team left undefeated away in the top flight in 2024/25. Dortmund are the league leaders in terms of their points tally on home turf while Bayern Munich are the only other team who can show off a big fat zero in terms of no defeats in their own back yard in the Bundesliga this term.

What makes this meeting all the more intriguing is that, despite BVB's prowess at the Signal Iduna Park, Leverkusen are coming to town with a superb unbeaten away record to defend. Added to that, Xabi Alonso's men are one of the most in-form sides in Europe right now, having won their last five top-tier games on the bounce. No team has managed six Bundesliga wins in a row as yet this season.

Watch: BVB and Bayer 04 produced plety of drama the last time the sides met at the Signal Iduna Park

The pendulum may seem to swing heavily in Bayer 04's favour when you consider that Dortmund - surprisingly - have failed to win consecutive Bundesliga games as yet this term. However, the hosts can point to the fact that they have emerged victorious in seven of their last nine top-flight games against Leverkusen at home while the the Black-and-Yellows have also not lost their first game of a calendar year since 2004 (won 15, drawn five).

Wirtz vs Brandt: unlocking the game

Julian Brandt and Florian Wirtz were part of Julian Nagelsmann's set-up when Germany drew with Hungary in the countries' final UEFA Nations League group fixture in November. Allegiances will be placed to one side as the creative wizards go head-to-head in Dortmund on Friday. For Brandt, it is one more chance to impress against the side with whom he once scored 42 goals in 215 appearances between 2014 and 2019.

Now in his sixth season with BVB, the versatile attacker continues his role as key creator. The joint-second highest assist provider in the Bundesliga along with Wirtz and Leroy Sané with 11 last season, Brandt has six goal involvements to his name this term despite missing several games with muscular issues. Interestingly, without the 28 year old, Dortmund were winless in four competitive games on the bounce towards the end of 2024 while with him on the pitch, they have won five of their last six matches in all competitions.

Watch: Brandt helps Dortmund to first away win

Brandt's importance to Dortmund rivals that of the phenomenal Wirtz's to Leverkusen, with last term's Bundesliga Player of the Season taking his game to another level in 2024/25. With seven goals and seven assists to his name in the Bundesliga alone, Bayer's No.10 trails only strikers Omar Marmoush (20) and Harry Kane (19) in terms of goal involvements.

The attacking midfielder has been involved in at least one goal in the last six match days while he has been provider-in-chief for striker Patrik Schick, setting up six of the Czech's nine Bundesliga goals. Completing 1,227 intensive runs and providing 20 crosses in his 15 games, it's clear to see why Dortmund will be very wary of Wirtz this weekend.

Danger down the flanks

The prospect of a fit again Karim Adeyemi joining forces with Jamie Gittens for a game where paths could cross with flying full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo is intoxicating. Dortmund coach Nuri Şahin fielded his attacking duo for BVB's fixtures against Bochum and then Celtic in the UEFA Champions League at the end of September and start of October, with Die Schwarzgelben winning both games with plenty to spare. In fact, Adeyemi netted a first-half hat-trick in the latter European encounter, before he was forced off with a thigh injury.

Watch: Wirtz - Leverkusen's game changer

The setback would prove significant, with the 22-year-old subsequently ruled out of action for Dortmund's next 12 games in all competitions. Adeyemi weighed in with two goals and three assists in his opening five top-flight matches before being laid low by injury and although it is no guarantee that Şahin will opt for his fit-again No.27 against Leverkusen, his inclusion would no doubt cause the visitors plenty of problems, as would that of Gittens.

The England attacker has honed his incredible talents this year, even admitting he has more focus and maturity to his game than ever before. The results are telling. Scoring a Dortmund career best five goals in a single season after just 15 games (Gittens managed just one Bundesliga goal last term), the Londoner has also chipped in with three assists while his four goals and an assist in the UEFA Champions League is proof that the former Chelsea and Manchester City youth has hit the afterburners in 2024/25.

Now imagine Grimaldo and Frimpong coming in the opposite direction! An integral pair in Leverkusen's run to double success last season, the side's quick-footed full-backs took their time to warm up to a fresh challenge this time around but with Bayer tearing it up before the New Year, Frimpong and Grimaldo are back to their very best.

Watch: Dortmund’s double G-Force

The top assist provider (with 13) last season, the Spaniard has sent in the second highest amount of crosses from open play in the division in this campaign. Frimpong, meanwhile, was last term's sprint king and the flying Dutchman - with 478 sprints - only trails Wolfsburg's Ridle Baku, who currently leads the sprint stats.

Formidable strike force to the fore

On his way to a phenomenal 28 Bundesliga goals in 2023/24, the former Stuttgart striker and current Dortmund goal-getter Serhou Guirassy had racked up 16 in the first 15 match days. A knee injury kept the Guinea international sidelined for his new start to life at the Signal Iduna Park this season, but he has since made his mark in the Black-and-Yellow attack.

Netting as many as six goals and providing an assist in his 12 Bundesliga games with Borussia, Guirassy's finest run so far this term saw him scoring six in four in all competitions, with a couple of back-to-back doubles in the aforementioned Bochum and Celtic games.

Watch: Patrik Schick on easy mode

Schick, meanwhile, is going into the Dortmund game having bagged a jaw-dropping four goals in the 5-1 win against Freiburg on 21 December. That meant that all of the Czech express's nine Bundesliga goals so far have been scored in his last five top-flight appearances.

With his heroics against Freiburg, the Prague native became the highest scoring Czech player of all time in the Bundesliga with 62 goals, surpassing Dortmund legend Jan Koller's tally. Just who will prevail in Friday's battle of the forwards this time around is one added ingredient to what looks a recipe for a Bundesliga classic.