BVB aiming to reach the quarter-finals against Leverkusen: “It will come down to the small details” | OneFootball

The scenarioDortmund picked up an important win on Saturday in Leverkusen. Thanks to their 2-1 victory, Niko Kovac’s team have overtaken Bayer in the Bundesliga table and now sits in third place. Now the second important duel against Werkself is coming up – on Tuesday evening in Dortmund, it will be decided which team advances to the quarter-finals. “It’s important that we build up good energy with our fans. We want to let that carry us forward so we can pick up where we left off,” said BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel after Saturday’s match (see post-match report). BVB have won both of their DFB-Pokal matches this season by narrow margins (1-0 in Essen, 4-2 on penalties in Frankfurt), while Leverkusen also had to fight hard in the last round in Paderborn (4-2 after extra time) after a confident start in Grossaspach (4-0).

Personnel matters“We just played a very intense game,” explains Niko Kovac, referring to Saturday’s match, but at the same time giving the all-clear: “Everyone who played is fine.” And the BVB coach has even better news: Maximilian Beier, who had recently been sidelined due to muscle stiffness, returned to team training on Monday. “It’s looking good,” said Kovac, “we’ll do one last test tomorrow morning and then decide whether Maxi can play or not.” Salih Özcan, who had been ill for the past two days, is also back. Apart from Niklas Süle (toe), BVB will have a full squad to choose from on Tuesday evening against Leverkusen. Kovac does not yet know whether he will start with a similar line-up to Saturday’s: “We’ll have to see how the lads feel tomorrow and who is fresh enough.”

The oppositionA fresh squad is particularly important because Leverkusen “demanded everything from Borussia on Saturday and will demand everything from us again tomorrow,” said Kovac. Bayer coach Kasper Hjulmand’s team had 63% possession in the Bundesliga clash. Letting the opposition have the ball for such long periods was not BVB’s plan, “but it’s about what you do with your possession. The decisive factor is how you switch play, create chances and score goals.”

According to Kovac, that is exactly what enabled BVB to win the game – along with a strong defensive performance. The bottom line is that BVB expect another strong Leverkusen showing on Tuesday. “It was close and tight, but we deserved to win,” says Kovac, who prefers to look ahead: “It’s a new game, it will be difficult. It will come down to the small details – they will decide this game.”

Cup premiere BVB and Leverkusen have faced each other 109 times, but this will be their first meeting in the DFB-Pokal: the two teams have never played each other in this competition before. The fact that the match will take place in Dortmund is also unusual: in the last 17 DFB-Pokal matches, Borussia Dortmund have only played at home once – on 1 November 2023 against Hoffenheim (1-0) (to the facts). Niko Kovac is also delighted about the home advantage. “It’s very important that we’re playing at home. But that doesn’t mean it will be an easy win.” Kovac would love to play in Berlin at the end of May, when the DFB-Pokal winner will be decided for the 83rd time. “I would be delighted if my team could be there,” said Kovac, “but to do that, we first have to overcome a real hurdle tomorrow.”

Nina Bargel-Neuhaus