Jobe Bellingham Poised for First Start in Bundesliga’s Second Half

As the second half of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season approaches, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham is anticipated to earn his first start of the new calendar year. The 20-year-old’s disappointing 2025 concluded with a two-match suspension.

After serving the second game of his ban, Bellingham made a comeback off the bench in Wednesday’s league victory over Werder Bremen, where he provided an assist for Serhou Guirassy’s third goal in a 3-0 win.

BVB head coach Niko Kovac announced in his Friday pre-match press conference that Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, who has started both of Dortmund’s fixtures since play resumed, will be unavailable for the upcoming match against St. Pauli. Additionally, with Pascal Groß opting to leave the club earlier this month, Bellingham emerges as the optimal choice to partner with fellow former England youth international Felix Nmecha.

The Bundesliga’s “Rück-Runde” sees clubs face each other in the same order as the beginning of the season, leading to a rematch against St. Pauli at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park. Both Bellingham and his teammates will likely want to put behind them the disappointing loss where they squandered a late two-goal lead against Hamburg’s Kiezkicker at the Millerntor.

Bellingham’s experience in the August 2025 fixture was particularly notable, marked by an incident where his father, Mark, confronted the BVB coaching and managerial staff regarding his son’s tactical deployment by Kovac. Although Dortmund attempted to resolve the situation, the confrontation seemingly impacted the club’s perception of Bellingham.

Kovac expressed his confidence in Bellingham’s development, stating, “In these last few months, he’s made great progress. He’ll continue to get solid minutes. I’m very satisfied with him and happy that he’s ours.”