On Friday night, Borussia Dortmund will start what coach Edin Terzic has called “probably the most important week of the season” with a home game against Rasenballsport Leipzig (kick-off 20:30 CET). After the trio of fixtures against Leipzig and away to Chelsea and Schalke, there will be ”a recognisable sense of where things go from there.”

The training ground in Dortmund-Brackel is becoming more crowded: Julian Ryerson has been back in team training since the beginning of the week after sitting out last weekend with an eye infection. Mateu Morey and Julien Duranville have completed parts of team training, while Karim Adeyemi is expected to resume ball-work on Friday or Saturday. Unlike Ryerson, the latter three and Youssoufa Moukoko will not yet be ready to play against Leipzig.

Terzic does not hold fond memories of the return fixture in Saxony. ”We have been forewarned and know all too well the quality of the opposition,” said the BVB head coach in reference to the 3-0 defeat earlier in the season, when his team started well but soon fell behind to a set-piece goal. On that day, Leipzig ”were able to cover the centre of the park very well, they were extremely aggressive and they posed a threat through their pace and individual quality.”

Former BVB coach Marco Rose’s club currently sit fourth in the table, four points behind second-placed BVB. “This is a real top-tier game in the Bundesliga. We’re looking forward to it,” said Terzic, adding: ”We want to increase the gap, they want to pull closer to the top of the table. It will be a game in which both teams are going for the win.” 

After the hard work on the training pitch over the winter break and riding the momentum of 09 wins in a row across all competitions, the Black & Yellow coach is positive going into the second meeting with the Saxons this season: “We want to carry on the intensity and toughness that we have shown in recent weeks. We want to keep up the same goal threat from the first few games of the year. We are on a good track and we want to keep going.”

Terzic hopes his team can achieve this with a win in the first game of what is shaping up to be “the most important week of the season.” Three points would extend the Black & Yellows’ winning run to ten straight games. Then there will be many more crucial weeks to come. 

Christina Reinke

BVB-TV by 1&1: the press conference ahead of the game against Leipzig