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Cerezo Osaka will welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Nagai Stadium in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday. Dortmund will conclude their tour of Asia with this match and will travel back to Europe for their next phase of the pre-season in August.
The hosts will take a break from their J1 League campaign in this match. They have endured a winless run in all competitions in July and will look to register a win in this match. They hosted Albirex Niigata in the league last week and suffered a 2-1 loss. Lucas Fernandes scored the consolation goal in stoppage time while midfielder Yuichi Hirano was sent off in the 82nd minute.
The visitors have played two friendlies thus far and have endured a winless run in these games. They held Erzgebirge Aue to a 1-1 draw earlier this month and in the second friendly, suffered a 4-0 loss to BG Pathum United on Sunday.
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Cerezo Osaka vs Borussia Dortmund Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams meet for the first time.
- The hosts are winless in four games across all competitions in July, scoring one goal each in these games.
- The hosts have won their last three friendlies, which included a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last July at Wednesday's venue.
- The visitors, on the other hand, are winless in their last three friendlies, with two games ending in draws.
- After recording four consecutive wins at home, Cerezo Osaka have suffered back-to-back 2-1 losses in their last two home games.
- Borussia Dortmund have not kept a clean sheet in their last six friendly games.
- The hosts have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 games in all competitions, with seven games producing over 2.5 goals.
Cerezo Osaka vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction
Sakura have recently seen a drop in form and are winless in their last four games. They have suffered two losses while scoring just four goals. Shinji Kagawa, the former Dortmund midfielder, will be looking forward to a reunion with his former employers and should be the first name on the teamsheet in this match.
Die Borussen fell to a shock 4-0 loss to Pathum United in a friendly last week and will need to improve upon that performance. They had fielded a strong starting XI but Nuri Sahin is expected to make a few changes to the lineup as he looks to conclude his team's tour of Asia with a win.
The hosts have a good record in friendly games and are expected to field a full-strength squad in this match. The visitors are still experimenting with their squad. With that in mind and considering the home advantage for Osaka, they are expected to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Cerezo Osaka 3-2 Borussia Dortmund
Cerezo Osaka vs Borussia Dortmund Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Cerezo Osaka to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Julian Brandt to score or assist any time - Yes
