Exactly 365 days after the last away game on the Main, Borussia Dortmund will take to the field to take on Eintracht Frankfurt once again. Kick-off is on Sunday at 15:30 CET.
BVB have won their the last five Bundesliga matches, and the Black and Yellows also won in the UEFA Champions League at Newcastle United on Wednesday. For that match, the team had to deal with three players who were struck down by injury: Julian Ryerson had not even made the trip to England due to an infection and Julian Brandt was ruled out before the match due to a muscle issue, while Emre Can had to be taken off due to an injury during the match. All three are yet to have trained with the team, “but are feeling better,” Edin Terzic said at midday on Saturday. The coach hopes that they will be able to make it through the final training session, and he will then decide who will make the trip to Frankfurt.
Captain Can was replaced by Salih Özcan in Newcastle, who impressed the coach with his performance: “Salih did brilliantly. It was not an easy game to come into, but he was immediately involved and his first action was to win the ball. And he is becoming more and more courageous and confident in possession of the ball.” We will have to wait and see whether the defensive midfielder can show his skills again from the outset in Frankfurt. Özcan was in the starting line-up at BVB’s last away game on the Main, which took place exactly one year ago. That game ended in a 2-1 win for BVB, and was actually the last time the Frankfurt side tasted defeat at home. In all of the 14 Bundesliga matches since then, the Hessians have remained unbeaten.
Eintracht have gone through a major upheaval since the game one year ago. “They sold a lot of important players and changed their head coach. Dino Toppmöller has taken charge. It took them a few weeks to find themselves, but if you look at their recent results and performances, you can see that things are coming together more and more,” Terzic noted during his analysis of Dortmund’s next opponents. Eintracht have won their last three competitive matches, winning 2-0 against Heidenheim, 3-1 against Hoffenheim and 6-0 against HJK Helsinki in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday. Having conceded just six goals, the hosts also represent the Bundesliga’s best defence. “We know that it is not easy for any Bundesliga team in Frankfurt. But we have also proved that we can tackle the difficult away matches and play really good football. That will be our assignment [on Sunday],” said Terzic.
In addition to the successful trip to Newcastle, the Black and Yellows have also performed well on the road in the league in recent weeks, claiming victories in Freiburg (4-2) and Hoffenheim (3-1). “Now it is a matter of continuing what we have worked hard on over the last few weeks and hopefully improving our situation in the table with another victory,” said the coach. It would be a sixth Bundesliga win in in a row for BVB, who currently sit fourth in the table.
Christina Reinke
BVB TV by 1&1:The press conference before the match in Frankfurt