Borussia Dortmund vs Mamelodi Sundowns: Club World Cup preview, team news & predicted lineups

After a fortunate draw with Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund will hope to clinch their first win of the Club World Cup tournament.

Borussia Dortmund

Including Niko Kovač, everyone agreed that Borussia Dortmund were lucky to avoid defeat in their debut Club World Cup fixture. Fluminense were the better side for the majority of the game, but they lacked precision with their decisions in the final third.

Additionally, Gregor Kobel made stunning double saves to deny Flu what could’ve been a deserved winner in the second-half. While the difficult weather and fixture congestion are cited as excuses for BVB, massive improvements are expected when they play their second game at the same timeslot on Saturday.

The Black and Yellows had a stunning end to the Bundesliga season as they won seven of their last eight games to climb from 11th place to fourth. Finishing in a Champions League spot was a big financial boost, like participating in this competition. Advancing to the later stages of the Club World Cup will also be a huge financial gain for BVB.  

Team News

Jobe Bellingham will be a candidate for a maiden start after his and Felix Nmecha’s substitutions slightly improved Dortmund’s display against Fluminense. Carney Chukwuemeka and Jamie Gittens could also see more playing time after promising cameos.

After playing the entire 90 minutes with little service up front, Serhou Guirassy will hope for a different kind of game on Saturday. The Guinean striker’s international debut was against South Africa in a friendly game back in 2022.

Mamelodi Sundowns

The South African giants are the only African club to pick up three points from the first round of games. Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca and Esperance all showcased beautiful football, but none of them even managed to get on the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Iqraam Rayners had the ball in the net three times in the first-half against Ulsan HD. Two of them were correctly disallowed, but his well-taken strike in the 36th minute proved decisive in the end.

In one of the least attended games of the tournament, Sundowns’ free-flowing football was admired by the footballing world. In fact, Lucas Ribeiro’s performance had Brazilian media talking about the midfielder for the first time since leaving his home country in 2017.

Team News

Sundowns played a continental final two weeks before the start of the competition, but they showed their readiness with their win against Ulsan HD. They also had to deal with an hour delay to kickoff due to adverse weather.

Miguel Cardoso isn’t expected to make changes to the starting XI, although Lebo Mothiba’s European football experience could make a difference.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Mamelodi Sundowns: Predicted Lineups

Dortmund XI: Kobel; Süle, Anton, Bensebaini; Svensson, Nmecha, Sabitzer, Ryerson; Brandt, Adeyemi; Guirassy

Sundowns XI: Williams; Mudau, Kekana, Cupido, Lunga; Mokoena, Allende; Ribeiro, Zwane, Arthur Sales; Rayners