Third match against Leverkusen: BVB want to continue a successful second half of the season | OneFootball

The scenarioIn their last eleven matches, Borussia Dortmund have amassed 28 points, making them the best team in the second half of the season. The Black & Yellows have won their last four games against Köln, Augsburg, Hamburg and Stuttgart. Last Saturday, it looked for a long time as if their winning streak would come to an end against VfB Stuttgart: only goals from Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt in stoppage time put Dortmund on the path to victory. Thanks to the 2-0 win in Stuttgart, the winning streak continued: Dortmund have scored at least twice in each of their last 14 Bundesliga matches. While a total of 60 goals have already been scored (only league leaders Bayern Munich have scored more goals), Dortmund have consistently kept clean sheets. Gregor Kobel has already kept 13 clean sheets, more than any other goalkeeper. After 28 matchdays, Dortmund have only lost twice. It’s the first time since the 1965/66 season, that they suffered so few defeats.

Personnel situation Karim Adeyemi received his fifth yellow card in Stuttgart and will not be in the squad against Leverkusen. “Felix still needs time, but he’s on the right track. I hope we might see him again this season,” said Kovac about Felix Nmecha, who is sidelined with a knee injury. Filippo Mane continues to participate in parts of team training. Yan Couto sat out training on Thursday due to muscular problems. The players who won with the U23 on Wednesday, participated in either training or recovered. Captain Emre Can remains out due to his cruciate ligament tear.

The opponentBayer Leverkusen is sixth in the table, 15 points behind Borussia Dortmund. In their last eleven Bundesliga encounters, the Werkself (Bayer Leverkusen) only lost once, a 1-0 defeat against Union Berlin, and are unbeaten in six matches. After three consecutive draws, Bayer won 6-3 against Wolfsburg last weekend. Dortmund have already faced Leverkusen twice this season: in the first half of the season, Dortmund won 2-1 away at the end of November. Just three days later, they met again in the DFB Cup round of 16, which the visitors won 1-0 at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. “The cup game is behind us. It was a good game that we unfortunately lost. In Leverkusen's home game, we were perhaps the team that defended better and had that little bit of luck,” recalls Niko Kovac. “These are two evenly matched teams with a lot of quality. We want to win the home game, but we also know that Leverkusen needs points and has ambitions to qualify for the Champions League. It's a 50-50 game and we have to make sure we tip the scales in our favour.”

Champions League qualification possibleLast season, Borussia Dortmund had to stage a late sprint with seven wins in eight games (one draw) to secure UEFA Champions League qualification on the final matchday. Now, after 28 matchdays, Dortmund sit second in the table, 14 points ahead of fifth place, currently held by Hoffenheim. Should Hoffenheim fail to beat Augsburg on Friday evening and Dortmund defeat Bayer Leverkusen, then Dortmund will have secured their Champions League ticket this weekend – their 21st appearance overall and their 11th consecutive Champions League qualification. Christina Reinke