The side in second hosts the team in third: Borussia Dortmund will welcome Union Berlin to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Saturday. Kick-off is at 15:30 CET.

It’s tight at the top of the Bundesliga table. League leaders Bayern Munich hold a two-point lead over BVB, who themselves are only two points ahead of next opponents Union Berlin. “Our position is still good, but it could’ve been better,” said BVB coach Edin Terzic in light of the defeat to the men from Munich last week, which saw BVB cede pole position in the table. In addition, the team were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal following a loss in Leipzig four days later. “That doesn’t pass us by without leaving a trace, because we had the feeling that we were very consistent on the road at the start of the year. We deal with each other openly, honestly and critically. We know that we can pull five points clear of Union Berlin,” explained Terzic, who also stressed, however, that a different performance to the last two games will be required.

“We’ll take another look at some things we urgently need to change and tweak in order to learn from them and to show a different side to ourselves,” said Terzic, who believes the current phase must be dealt with analytically and by “being very tough, very sharp, very critical with each other and bringing the right content and topics back into focus”. Specifically, the coach wants to see fewer losses of possession and a significant improvement in terms of tackling toughness and stability in order to bring more confidence back into their play – ideally, starting in the next game against Union Berlin.

The Köpenick outfit are known for their defensive solidity and, not for the first time, have conceded the fewest goals in the division this season. “It’s not easy to create lots of scoring opportunities against Union Berlin. Nonetheless, we’re capable of doing so,” noted Terzic, adding: “It will be important that we support each other, not only off the ball but on the ball too, and that we position ourselves well and show self-confidence.”

Karim Adeyemi to return

On the personnel front, BVB are still without Nico Schlotterbeck and Julien Duranville. It remains to be seen whether Thomas Meunier and Sebastian Haller will make the squad. Both have trained individually and are set to re-join the team for the final training session. Karim Adeyemi, who was injured and then suspended in the cup, trained with the U23s during the week and will return to the squad. Terzic said: “Karim was in outstanding form prior to his injury. We’re optimistic that he can build on that. He will help our attack with his speed.”

Even though BVB will only be fighting in one competition until the end of May, “we want to finish this season as successfully as possible. There are still a lot of things that are worth fighting for,” said the BVB boss. “There are still eight challenges awaiting us in the Bundesliga and we have shown that we can win eight in a row. That is the challenge and it starts tomorrow.”
Christina Reinke

BVB TV by 1&1: The press conference prior to the game against Union