Setting Overs/Unders on Key Stats for Borussia Dortmund in 2016/17 Season

Following the DFL-Supercup as a curtain raiser, the 2016/17 Bundesliga campaign is right around the corner for Borussia Dortmund.

With the first round of the DFB-Pokal and the first matchday of the season on the horizon, every fanbase can still hold hopes and dreams that this is going to be their club’s year, some of which are sure to be crushed over the following 10 months.

For Dortmund fans, the hope is that their club can end a trophy drought of four years. After a summer of upheaval that saw major turnover in the squad with no fewer than 13 first-team transfers to this point, there’s a little uncertainty in the air.

If the team can jell quickly, the sky seems to be the limit for Thomas Tuchel’s side, after the 42-year-old turned in a mightily impressive first campaign at the Westfalenstadion last season.

Having added talented youngsters as well as proven Bundesliga quality, Dortmund’s squad looks strong enough for a successful season, however that may be defined.

Here, Bleacher Report takes a stab at predicting how the season could go for the Black and Yellows with four over/under projections on team and individual stats.

Number of Trophies: 0.5

Dortmund haven’t won a major trophy (the Supercup isn’t considered that important in Germany) since 2012—the year they won the double of the Bundesliga and the cup, beating Bayern Munich 5-2 in, arguably, the pinnacle of the Jurgen Klopp era at the club.

The Ruhr side have come close, losing finals in the UEFA Champions League in 2013 and the DFB-Pokal in the last three years.

Last season, they also gave Bayern a pretty good fight for the Bundesliga title, relatively speaking. The Bavarians were only crowned champions on the penultimate matchday and Dortmund dropped five of the 10 points they were lagging behind them in the final two games of the season.

With Carlo Ancelotti replacing Pep Guardiola, many fans will have hoped that BVB could become an even better challenger, given the Italian’s less-than-impressive domestic record, as Miguel Delaney pointed out for ESPN FC: “Despite spending 18 consecutive years at the continent’s wealthiest clubs, Ancelotti only has three domestic medals.”

However, considering the major changes Dortmund have undergone this summer, a true title challenge seems too much to ask for. Their most likely path to hoisting another trophy lies in the cup. The Black and Yellows came agonisingly close in May, losing to Bayern in a penalty shootout.

As always, the luck of the draw will be crucial, but Dortmund have developed into cup specialists in recent times, reaching the final in four of the last five …

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