BVB on the road: Copenhagen the second of six away games in three weeks | OneFootball

BVB's most recent victory in what has been a successful season so far came on 1 October, with a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao. This was followed by a 1-1 draw against Leipzig and a 2-1 defeat in Munich in the league. Now, on Tuesday evening (kick-off 21:00 CEST, live on DAZN) at the Parken Stadium against FC Copenhagen, the aim is to consolidate their good position in this competition. After all, the next road trip in the Champions League will take the Black & Yellows to Manchester City, which will be anything but an easy game. And Copenhagen is the second of a total of six away games between now and 8 November. Only one of the seven games sandwiched between Munich and Hamburg will take place in Dortmund: this Saturday's Bundesliga home game against 1. FC Köln.

In terms of personnel, head coach Niko Kovac has a full squad to choose from, apart from the long-term absentees Emre Can and Julien Duranville: “We had a very intense game in Munich, but by tomorrow everyone will certainly have recovered enough to be able to play 90 minutes.”

“We will not only play a lot, but also travel a lot”

Looking ahead, these “English away weeks” with six of seven games on the opponent’s turf (Munich, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Augsburg, Manchester, Hamburg) point to inevitable rotations. “We will not only play a lot, but also travel a lot,” said Kovac: “That means we will lose a bit of substance. We will certainly rotate. Whether that will be the case tomorrow, I have yet to decide. But it will definitely be the case in the next few games, so we will give everyone some playing time. And we also have to make sure that we don’t run into any injuries because we are pushing someone too hard.”

It’s good timing that Julian Brandt is back to full fitness after his hand operation, helping to clinch the win in Mainz and then scoring a goal in Munich. The coach is full of praise for the creative midfielder (“I’m glad I have him”) and is also delighted with the progress Fabio Silva is making: “The mere fact that I’m now playing him for ten to 15 minutes in every game shows what I think of him and what we see in him.”

On Tuesday, BVB will face an opponent that have been plagued by injuries and have only managed one draw from their three games in October thus far. “When you know all the players who are playing, it’s usually a little easier,” said Kovac about the opposition and his game plan: “But all the Copenhagen players are good enough to replace the players that are out injured. Sometimes it’s even more difficult because they have extra motivation, because they want to show the coach: ‘You can count on me.’ We want to focus on our game and pick up points against a very respectable opponent.”

Boris Rupert