Kovac ahead of the cup hurdle in Frankfurt: “We certainly want to progress” | OneFootball

The midweek fixtures, with victories in Copenhagen (4-2, Champions League) and against Köln (1-0, Bundesliga), have not left any marks on the squad. “Everyone is fine. There won’t be any major changes,” says Niko Kovac with regard to the squad that will travel to Hesse. Emre Can and Julien Duranville, who have been out with long-term injuries, will not be involved yet, but both are continuing to make progress. “Juju is not allowed to make tackles yet because he can't fall on his shoulder. We will definitely wait until after the international break. Emre is making good progress, but he also won't be ready until after the international break,” explains the BVB coach. “We are not putting any pressure on either of them because we need players who are 100% fit.”

Kovac's return to Frankfurt

However, Borussia Dortmund still have four away games to play before the international break starts in two weeks, the first of which is against Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal. “Every team wants to go to Berlin, and so do we,” said Kovac, emphasising the importance of the domestic cup competition. BVB advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over third-tier side Rot-Weiss Essen, while Frankfurt won 5-0 at Oberliga side FV Engers. The Black & Yellows have faced Eintracht five times in the cup to date: Borussia have emerged victorious on three occasions, with Frankfurt winning two games. The most recent cup clash between BVB and Eintracht took place in 2017, when Borussia were crowned cup winners with a 2-1 victory in Berlin. Eintracht Frankfurt’s manager at the time was Niko Kovac. “I’m travelling to Frankfurt with a great feeling because it was my first managerial position in the Bundesliga. I’m a lifetime member, so I’m happy to go to my footballing home. But still, I’m the manager of BVB and I want to win the game against my old club,” said Kovac.

Frankfurt are currently sixth in the Bundesliga and 22nd in the Champions League table. “They have scored a lot of goals in the Bundesliga, but they have also conceded a lot, including in the Champions League.” A week ago, Frankfurt lost 5-1 at home to Liverpool, but on Saturday they won 2-0 at home against St. Pauli.

“It’s a difficult away game against a very good team. But if you want to reach the final, you have to beat your opponents, no matter who they are or where you play. We want to win, but we know how difficult it will be,” said Kovac. Frankfurt have a slight advantage through playing at home, “but that advantage doesn’t mean we don’t have a chance. On the contrary, I believe that my team have in recent games and across this season that we have quality, no matter who is playing. And we certainly want to advance. We have to play our game from the first minute, until perhaps even the 120th minute.”

After the fixtures in Copenhagen and Cologne, the BVB professionals now face their third match in a week in a third competition – hopefully with a third win.Christina Reinke