BVB aiming to "keep up the pressure" against Hoffenheim | OneFootball

Two points currently separate BVB from the international places. With four matches to go before the end of the season, the Black & Yellows are in seventh place on 45 points – behind Mainz (sixth place, 47 points), Freiburg (fifth place, 48 points) and Leipzig (fourth place, 49 points). If results in Mainz (in Munich) and Freiburg (in Wolfsburg) were to go their way, Borussia have the chance to climb to fifth position in the table with a victory in Hoffenheim.

"Everyone can read the table. Everyone knows what's at stake," said Niko Kovac. The BVB coach wants to continue the positive trend of the last weeks: BVB have remained unbeaten in their last four Bundesliga matches, picking up three wins (Gladbach, Freiburg, Mainz) and taking a point from their clash with league leaders Bayern Munich.

"I feel everyone wants to be involved"

Although BVB were also eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Barcelona during this period, they boosted their self-confidence by claiming a 3-1 home victory over the Catalans, who had not previously suffered a defeat this year. "If you look at the results, then we are predominantly satisfied with them," said Kovac, for whom one thing is particularly important in addition to the results: "The way in which we picked up the points makes me feel very positive. I'm not the only one to see that there is a constant positive trend."

Borussia will be looking to pick up another three points against Hoffenheim on Saturday. The Black & Yellows will be without long-term injury absentees Nico Schlotterbeck and Marcel Sabitzer, who was able to resume team training following the weekend. Pascal Groß (knee ligament injury) and Maximilian Beier, who had to be substituted with an injury following a collision in the match against Gladbach, are still doubtful. Kovac, however, is not giving up on the possibility of them playing against Hoffenheim. "It's quite clear that I'd like to have both of them involved. We're now moving into the business end, one or two of them might have to push through. And the lads want to push through too," said Kovac. "What I see and what I feel is that everyone now wants to be involved and is getting over the pain. But," emphasised the coach, "if it doesn't make sense from a medical point of view or it's too dangerous, then of course we won't take any risks."

Regardless of who lines up on the pitch for the Black & Yellows on Saturday, Kovac is predicting "a difficult game" against Hoffenheim – even if 15th-placed TSG are already eight points clear of the relegation play-off place. "Hoffenheim play very aggressive football, now with a back three again, a back five. For us, that also means that we have to go forward in a positive manner in order to put our opponents on the back foot," said Kovac.

BVB had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture against the Sinsheim outfit. Giovanni Reyna had opened the scoring at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK shortly before the interval, only for former Borussia player Jacob Bruun Larsen to level the scores for Hoffenheim in stoppage time. The team of coach Christian Ilzer, who replaced Pellegrino Matarazzo at TSG in November 2024, have lost two of their last three matches (3-2 in Freiburg and 3-1 in Leipzig) and only came out on top in their home game against Mainz (2-0).

BVB have come away from each of their last four Bundesliga visits to Hoffenheim as winners, with Borussia's last defeat in Sinsheim back in December 2019. By winning a fifth game away to TSG in a row, the Black & Yellows want to make up ground on the international berths. BVB could get a helping hand in that regard from Eintracht Frankfurt, who are playing against Leipzig, Freiburg and Mainz in the season run-in. "I wish them good luck, that can help us," said Kovac, who nonetheless declared: "We have to do our homework. There's no point in looking at the rest of the league or the teams ahead of us. We have to win so that we can keep up the pressure."