Dortmund host Frankfurt at Signal Iduna Park on 24 October 2026, a Bundesliga Matchday 7 fixture that finds the home side needing to end a two game winless run. They sit second with 14 points from six matches, trailing only Bayern Munich, so dropping more points here would let the leaders breathe easy. Frankfurt, 11th on eight points with a goal difference of minus six, would be glad of even a draw. There is no head to head record between Niko Kovač and Adi Hütter, with Kovač having taken charge at Dortmund in February 2025 after succeeding Nuri Şahin and Hütter returning to Frankfurt on 1 July 2026 following Albert Riera's departure.
Dortmund are unbeaten in six Bundesliga games but have stalled lately, drawing 2-2 with Werder Bremen on 9 October and then playing out a 0-0 against Union Berlin on 17 October after a 1-0 win at Stuttgart on 19 September. In Europe they beat Sabah 2-1 on 20 October but lost 0-1 to Bodø/Glimt a week earlier.
Frankfurt's form swings between promising and alarming even by mid season standards. They beat Köln 1-0 on 16 October for their first clean sheet since March, though that came just six days after getting thrashed 6-0 at Leipzig and they had already lost 4-1 at Augsburg earlier in the campaign.
Dortmund are missing four players in Emre Can, out long term with an ACL injury, Giannis Konstantelias, similarly sidelined, Konstantinos Karetsas, who has ankle ligament damage and Justin Lerma, out with a muscle problem, with the absences hitting midfield depth and defensive cover hardest. Frankfurt are short in attack too, with Jessic Ngankam out with a hamstring issue, Malik Pimpong unavailable through injury and Oscar Hojlund a doubt with a thigh problem.
Dortmund line up in a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 that values controlled possession, with the wing backs pushing high while the three central defenders hold a compact line behind them. Serhou Guirassy is the centre of the attack, a finisher who punishes loose defending ruthlessly and Jobe Bellingham and Felix Nmecha control from midfield, with Nico Schlotterbeck organising at the back. Losing Emre Can hurts the midfield's defensive cover, so Bellingham and Nmecha will have more ground to cover than usual.
Frankfurt rely on Mario Götze for creativity and Raphael Onyedika to drive the midfield, though Onyedika is on a booking and will need to stay disciplined. Robin Koch organises a defence that has shipped goals far too readily and the 6-0 at Leipzig showed exactly what happens when Frankfurt are pressed high and caught on the wrong foot. Without Ngankam, Frankfurt have no one capable of holding the ball in forward areas, so any break will rely on runners rather than a focal point, making it easier for Dortmund's three man defence to track. Guirassy can pull Koch out of position with movement inside the box and if Dortmund generate central overloads he will get chances, while Bellingham against Onyedika will determine who controls the midfield.
Dortmund lead the all time head to head with 57 wins from 114 meetings against Frankfurt's 35 and have won nine of the last ten league meetings at Signal Iduna Park.
Schlotterbeck's aerial presence at set pieces, combined with the delivery of Nmecha and Bellingham, presents a threat Frankfurt's depleted defence will struggle to handle now that the aerial cover Ngankam and Pimpong provided is gone. Dortmund beat Sabah on Monday, Frankfurt are still absorbing a 6-0 at Leipzig.
Dortmund should win this 2-0. Frankfurt's defensive vulnerabilities, particularly when pressed, give Guirassy and the attacking midfielders the spaces they need and the set piece threat is another problem Hütter's side simply doesn't have the personnel to answer.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
