…INJURY REPORT

Christopher Lenz is the only player who will not be available at the weekend. Yussuf Poulsen had a good week of training and is ready for the home game.

...DORTMUND

It will be a difficult task. Dortmund has an incredible amount of offensive power, Niclas Füllkrug as a target player and a few guys running around. We have to defend well, with high intensity, and compete every metre. Marcel Sabitzer has developed into a leader and pacesetter at BVB, he gives pressing signals, he scores and sets up goals. He is in absolute top condition! Dortmund is in form and is rightly in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Nevertheless, we have seen where they are vulnerable. We know our strength and how difficult we are to defend when we get rolling. We showed in our own stadium that we can also defend against top teams.

...ROTATION

There is no reason for changes because we won in Heidenheim and solved the task properly. Nevertheless, we also saw the performances of our substitutes, who played an important role. As always, it's good for the coach that there are close decisions in some positions. We’ll see how we solve it then.

...ABOUT THE SEASON

We have mastered a huge upheaval excellently. We had two not-so-easy phases this season, which we got through. We reacted well to the difficult January and never lost our nerve. We are now in a crucial phase and have an absolutely top game ahead of us. As a coach, you also evaluate developments apart from the results. But it makes a small difference whether we come third or fourth, or possibly qualify for the Champions League through fifth place.

...YUSSUF POULSEN

It’s always good to have Yussi there. I believe that Benjamin Sesko's development also has to do with him because the two of them talk a lot about football and because Benji absorbs a lot. We'll see how many minutes Yussi can last against BVB. You know what you're getting with him: a man with a high willingness to run and make the right decisions. Of course, he also gives us a goal threat from headers and set pieces. He is one of the few strikers who still really gets through to the front post.

…INJURY REPORT

Donyell Malen is still out. He's still not feeling well. Now he's also got a cold, so he hasn't been able to complete his rehab. It's not looking good for the weekend. We are still without Ramy Bensebaini and Sebastien Haller on Saturday, as well as the suspended Emre Can and Ian Maatsen. Felix Nmecha or Salih Özcan could replace the captain. We'll wait for training today and then make a decision. Of course, both are candidates to step into the role. Marius played from the start in Gladbach and had a good game. That's why we're very confident that he'll also do well tomorrow.

…LEIPZIG’S FORM

Leipzig's quality is undisputed, they've been doing a good job for years. They are an extremely pacey team, especially up front, and are always dangerous when they have space to run into.

…DIRECT RIVAL

Enough reasons to be confident. With all due respect to Leipzig, we want to be the team that seizes the day and jumps up a place in the table. We still have some ground to make up in the Bundesliga. We want to improve our position in the table