Dortmund hoping to not be the Odd one out

German side face Norwegian club Odd Grenland in Europa League playoff.

Many have predicted that Borussia Dortmund will take time to adjust to the exit of Jurgen Klopp, with the German departing at the end of last season after seven highly successful years at the helm.

However, new boss Thomas Tuchel seems to have subdued all concerns with BVB impressing so far. Not only have Dortmund started off their Bundesliga campaign in style — thrashing Borussia Monchengladbach, who finished third last season, 4-0 at the Signal Iduna Park — they have also not conceded any goals in competitive games this season.

And it is with this confidence that the former German champions enter the Europa League qualifying playoffs as they face Norwegian club Odd Grenland on Thursday.

Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan was the hero against Wolfsberger in the competitions’ third-qualifying round, scoring a hat-trick in Dortmund’s 5-0 second-leg win, and was once again in the spotlight after scoring twice following goals from Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Gladbach.

And Tuchel would be expecting the 26-year-old to carry his fine form against Odd, who have a remarkable record at home, having lost only once in six home games at the Odd Stadium.

Dag-Eilev Fagermo’s side are enjoying the most successful European venture in the club’s history, having seen off Sheriff, Shamrock Rovers and Elfsborg to reach the playoff round. However, despite the remarkable results, the coach is under no illusions about the size of the task his side face across two legs.

“It will be very difficult to advance, because Dortmund are a very strong team,” said the 48-year-old. “Either way, my players will learn a lot from these games.”

Meanwhile, in the other games, recently crowned Spanish Super Cup champions Athletic Bilbao take on Slovakian club Zilina, while Southampton take on Midtjylland and Ajax face Czech team Jablonec.

All first-leg games will be played on August 20, with the return matches taking place next Thursday on August 27.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2015.

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