Last season's runners-up, Borussia Dortmund, kick off their Bundesliga campaign with a home tie against Hamburg on Saturday evening.
Niko Kovac’s men suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the German Supercup, typically the curtain raiser for the upcoming season.
BVB have not won the Bundesliga title since 2012 and that will be Kovac’s aim this season, even if Bayern are strong favourites to retain their crown.
For Hamburg, retaining their top-flight status might just be the target for a side that finished 13th in the league last season, although a good start against Borussia Dortmund may give boss Merlin Polzin and his men the confidence to aim higher.
Borussia Dortmund v Hamburg Tips Summary
Best Bet - Over 2.5 goals @ 1/2
Alternative Bet - Serhou Guirassy to score anytime @ 4/6
Bet Builder - Borussia Dortmund to win, both teams to score, Konstantinos Karetsas 2+ fouls won, Nicolai Remberg to be booked @ 14/1
Borussia Dortmund v Hamburg Prediction
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals @ 1/2
Historically, matches between these two clubs tend to feature plenty of goals. The last meeting in March saw Kovac’s men emerge as 3-2 victors over their opponents, while in five successive matches between 2015 and 2017, three or more goals were scored in each game.
Across Dortmund’s six pre-season matches and the Supercup defeat to Bayern, three or more goals were scored in five of them.
All six of Hamburg’s games this season, including pre-season and the DFB Pokal first-round clash against Verl, produced three or more goals.
Last season, 19 of Hamburg’s 34 league matches would have seen this bet land, with the same number of Borussia Dortmund’s fixtures featuring three or more goals in the Bundesliga.
Both teams will be looking to start the season off by securing three points so expect goals at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening.
Alternative Bet: Serhou Guirassy to score anytime @ 4/6
Serhou Guirassy didn’t have the best of games against Bayern last week, failing to register a single shot throughout his 63 minutes on the pitch.
The forward will be looking to put that disappointing performance behind him as he looks to get off the mark in the Bundesliga, and Hamburg are not nearly in the same class as the champions.
Last season, Guirassy scored 22 goals in all competitions, which included 17 in the Bundesliga, while he has netted a staggering 60 goals in 97 appearances since making the move from Stuttgart.
He scored in the 3-2 home win over Hamburg in March and warrants support in the anytime goalscorer market.
Borussia Dortmund v Hamburg Bet Builder
- Borussia Dortmund to win
- Both teams to score
- Konstantinos Karetsas 2+ fouls won
- Nicolai Remberg to be booked
Pays 14/1
No team was stopping Bayern last season, with Kovac’s men finishing 16 points adrift in second.
An opening clash against Hamburg offers the ideal chance for Dortmund to begin with three points, with Hamburg having lost six of the last seven meetings between the two, only drawing the other in that run.
Both teams did score in the two meetings last season, which yielded seven goals in total.
Five of Dortmund’s last seven games including pre-season, and all of Hamburg's pre-season games, saw both teams find the back of the net, and that looks a strong possibility once again.
Konstantinos Karetsas was the most expensive summer signing for BVB and he could be a game-changer.
In the Belgian Pro League last season, the Greek attacker was fouled 1.9 times per game, and in a home game against weaker opposition he could easily win two fouls on Saturday.
And one of those may come from last season's leading yellow card recipient in the Bundesliga, Nicolai Remberg, who looks a very appealing price to pick up a yellow card in this opener, as he did on his last trip to Signal Iduna Park.
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Key Match Stats
- Borussia Dortmund have won six of their last seven games against Hamburg, drawing the other
- Hamburg’s last victory against their opponents came in November 2015
- Serhou Guirassy scored 22 goals last season
- Hamburg’s last opening-day Bundesliga win came in August 2017
- BVB finished second with 73 points last season, while Hamburg finish 13th with 38
- Dortmund won 13 home games last term while losing only two
- Hamburg were victorious just three times on the road in the league in 2025/26
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
