Borussia Dortmund v Hamburger SV
FOOTBALL : Germany : Bundesliga
Friday, 5th August 2011 - Kickoff 19:30

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The new Bundesliga season gets under way with the champions opening the campaign on home turf. Borussia Dortmund can expect a sell-out 80,000 crowd for the visit of Hamburger SV, who finished a disappointing eighth last season.

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund were an outstanding team last seasoning, winning the Bundesliga by 7 points, and with an impressive home record of 12-4-1.

Not surprisingly, Dortmund are solid favourites to win this opening match, and the home side will be bouyed by a 2-0 vicitory over Hamburg in the pre-season League Cup as well.

Summer signings Chris Lowe and Ilkay Gündogan are set to make their top-flight debuts for the Yellow-Blacks, with Lowe stepping in for the injured Marcel Schmelzer at left back - while Gundogan will fill the offensive holding midfield slot vacated by Nuri Sahin, now at Real Madrid.

An important absence for Dortmund will be Lucas Barrios who is out for a few weeks yet - after pulling a hamstring while playing in the Copa America final.

Hamburger SV

Hamburg finished a disappointing 8th in last season Bundesliga, and away form had a lot to do with it as they ran up a 5-3-9 road record.

Hamburg are making big changes at the club with new sporting director Frank Arnesen bringing in four players from his former club Chelsea in Gokhan Tore, Jacopo Sala, Michael Mancienne and Jeffrey Bruma.

However, manager Michael Oenning still has work to do to intergrate all the pieces of this new squad into a cohesive team, and Hamburg's scratchy 2-1 win over lower league VfB Oldenburg last weekend in the DFB Cup did not impress.

The Betting Verdict

Things HAVE changed since last season, but Dortmund still look to be a formidable unit, and have to be strong favourites to start with a win.

The Head-to-head record looks good, with Dortmund winning this fixture for the last three years in a row without conceding a goal.

It's best to keep stakes small during the opening month as we learn about the new line-ups of all the Bundesliga clubs - but this still looks like a home win to me.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Dortmund 2-0 Hamburg

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Dortmund 61% - Draw 20% - Hamburg 19%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll take Borussia Dortmund to win