Borussia Dortmund will finish the 2024-25 Bundesliga season with a crucial fixture against Holstein Kiel on match day 34 at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund.
As of the time of writing, Borussia Dortmund are currently 5th in the German Bundesliga with 51 points from 32 matches. They have won 15 times, drawn six times, and suffered 11 defeats. They are currently three points adrift of the final Champions League spot.
Borussia Dortmund changed managers in the summer, with former Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin replacing Edin Terzin, who had been in charge for the previous two seasons. The Black and Yellows also lost Jadon Sancho after the expiration of his loan deal.
BVB made a decent start to the season under Sahin, who was having his managerial debut in a top-five league, after coaching Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor between 2021 and 2023. As stated earlier, Sahin had a great start to life after defeating Frankfurt I’m the reverse fixture.
They then played out a goalless draw with Werder Bremen in their next game. Dortmund bounced back to winning ways with a 4-2 win against strugglers Heidenheim at the Signal Iduna Park. Unfortunately for them, they failed to take that performance to their next game against Stuttgart as they fell to an embarrassing 5-1 defeat.
The Black and Yellows won their next game against Bochum but lost to Union Berlin in the game that followed. Since then, Borussia Dortmund have picked up wins against St. Pauli, RB Leipzig, and Freiburg, but they lost to Mainz and Augsburg. Other poor defeats to Leverkusen, Kiel, Frankfurt, and Bologna in the UCL had Sahin lose his job. He was succeeded by Niko Kovac by the end of January.
Results have just fared slightly, as they are trying to catch up with the rest of the teams in the Champions League places. Despite how the season has gone, BVB reached the quarterfinals of the UCL, where they were knocked out by Barcelona. Currently, Dortmund have won their past three games in the Bundesliga, and they are just three points off the final UCL spot.
On the other hand, Holstein Kiel are making their debut in the Bundesliga, and it has not particularly gone well, as they are staring at an immediate return to the second division. At the time of writing, they have 25 points from 32 games. They have six wins, seven draws and 19 defeats.
Kiel were promoted for the first time in the 2023/24 season after finishing in the top two in the second division of German football. They clinched promotion on the 11th of May, 2024, after a 1-1 draw with Fortuna Düsseldorf.
In the summer, they signed midfielder Armin Gigovic and Magnus Knudsen from Russian side Rostov and also secured the services of Max Geschwill from third-division side Sandhausen. Philipp Sander left the club to join Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, while left winger Joshua Mees also left at the end of his contract.
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They began the season with a 3-2 loss at Hoffenheim on Matchday one. They picked up their first points when they held Bochum to a 2-2 draw away from home. Their only victory of the league season was a 1-0 home win over Heidenheim, as a Patrick Erras strike secured maximum points. Their most recent league outing was a 2-0 home loss to 4th-placed RB Leipzig.
In the German Cup, they defeated Alemannia Aachen 3-2 away from home in the first round. They suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss at 2. Bundesliga side Cologne in the second round. Kiel’s have had several results not go their way for a majority of the season. Between January and March, they won just two games, but have won two games in the past two weeks with wins against Monchengladbach and Augsburg.
At the moment, they are unbeaten in their past three matches in the Bundesliga, and are now chasing a relegation play-off spot that is currently being occupied by Heidenheim. So, if they eventually manage to scale through, it would be an amazing story.
Without any doubt, Dortmund are currently playing their best football of the season under Kovac. Especially in their last five games, where they have taken 13 points from a possible 15, with their only blemish in that time being a spectacular away draw in Der Klassiker. They are in solid form at the moment and are keen to return to the UEFA Champions League next season.
In the reverse fixture between the two teams, Kiel prevailed 4-2, but things have changed to a great extent since then. Kiel’s previous visit to the Signal Iduna Park saw them walloped 5-0, and going by the rich vein of form of BVB, one cannot look past such a scoreline repeating itself.
Match Tickets
The epic match at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund will be played on Saturday, May 17th, 2025 at 14:30 GMT+1.
The 81,365-capacity stadium will host this season-ending league clash between Borussia Dortmund and Die Störche.
Getting Borussia Dortmund v Holstein Kiel tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team News
Line-ups
Borussia Dortmund also have several players injured ahead of this game. Maximilian Beier is not expected back until late May, meaning his season is probably over. Pascal Groß is also out until June, Nico Schlotterbeck (October), and Marcel Sabitzer (mid-May) as well. With the likes of Emre Can and Carney Chukwuemeka back to fitness, BVB do have some presence in midfield.
- Borussia Dortmund XI: Kobel, Svensson, Süle, Bensebaini, Ryerson, Anton, Nmecha, Can, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens, Guirassy.
As of the time of writing, the relegation-threatened side are currently without the likes of Marco Komenda, Ivan Nekić, and Andu Yobel Kelati who are not expected to feature again this season.
- Holstein Kiel XI: Dähne, Rosenboom, Johansson, Becker, Zec, Tolkin, Remberg, Gigović, Machino, Bernhardsson, Skrzybski,
Prediction
This is the second-ever league meeting between the sides. Borussia Dortmund have enough quality in their ranks and are expected to claim a convincing win over their opponents.
Judging by history and form, Dortmund should carry the day. By the way, getting Borussia Dortmund tickets early for the final game of the season is very important.
At the time of writing, BVB have scored 10 goals in their past three Bundesliga games at home, while Kiel have conceded just three times in the same number of games on the road. In addition, going by the outcome of the reverse fixture, goals should flow in this contest.
- Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Holstein Kiel
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