Borussia Dortmund will be looking to go a full calendar year unbeaten at home for the first time since 1965 when they welcome Augsburg to Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday evening (kick-off 20:00 CET), in what will be their 25th and final home game of 2016 in all competitions. None of the previous 24 visiting teams have managed a victory in Dortmund.

1965 is the first and only year since the inception of the Bundesliga that Borussia Dortmund have remained unbeaten at home all season (15 victories, three draws). But 51 years after that feat was achieved at the Rote Erde stadium there will now be a repeat at the Westfalenstadion/Signal Iduna Park if Thomas Tuchel's team avoid defeat in their 25th home game of 2016. There have previously been 17 victories and seven draws (including the DFB Cup game that BVB won on penalties against Union Berlin).

"Now I'm suddenly getting superstitious," said Thomas Tuchel of the prospect, before continuing: "We will not achieve it by going on about it, but by once again holding firm and going to our limit in terms of performance."

The fact that their defensively-minded opponents will arrive in North Rhine-Westphalia with a new coach in tow does not make the preparations any easier. "We're expecting him to come up with a plan that neutralises our strengths," said Tuchel of counterpart Manuel Baum, adding: "We need to find solutions for ourselves."

Having seen his team fall behind in their last six games in all competitions, Tuchel has called upon them "to score the first goal" to lay the foundations for a victory "which we really need in the table" and which would see the Black and Yellows end the year unbeaten in front of their own fans...

Boris Rupert