Kovac wants BVB to push „to the limit“ again in Berlin

The situation

For BVB head coach Niko Kovac, the situation ahead of the away game at Stadion An der Alten Försterei is clear: “We want to take three points there. But we know how difficult it is there. We won 3-0 last season, but it was still a tough battle right up to the final second. I expect the same tomorrow.”

After an outstanding start to the season with six consecutive competitive wins, Borussia Dortmund have recently suffered their first setbacks. The home match against Werder Bremen ended in a 2-2 draw, before Wednesday evening’s match against FK Bodø/Glimt brought their first defeat of the season in the UEFA Champions League. Kovac stresses that he wants his team to learn the right lessons from these matches quickly: “We’ve fallen down and now we’re getting back up. It’s a process.”

The outlook for the clash with the Iron Ones is very promising from BVB’s perspective: a third away win in their third away match would definitely take the Black & Yellows back to the top of the table. Current leaders SC Freiburg do not play until Sunday, when they travel to Bayer Leverkusen.

Team news

Giannis Konstantelias and Emre Can (both recovering from torn cruciate ligaments) remain long-term absentees from Borussia’s squad, while Justin Lerma will also continue to miss out with a thigh injury. Otherwise, Borussia Dortmund can travel to Berlin-Köpenick with a full squad. More details on BVB’s team news.

The opposition

Union Berlin initially struggled to get going this season under new head coach Mauro Lustrinelli. The capital club picked up just one point from their first four Bundesliga matches, marking their worst start to a season since winning promotion to the Bundesliga in 2019. Their position of 17th and goal difference (4:17) at that stage were also historic lows.

Last weekend, however, Union secured a much-needed breakthrough: a 1-0 away victory at SV Elversberg gave the Berlin side their first win of the season and lifted them to 16th in the table.

Niko Kovac has great respect for Saturday’s opponents: “In their last match against Elversberg, they got back to the levels of intensity and aggression they’ve shown in recent years. It’s going to be intense! We have to push ourselves to the limit and engage in the physical battles they force on us. If you think you can go there and cruise through the game, you’ll have a tough time. Plenty of teams have already experienced that,” warns the BVB coach.

Kovac also recalls Union’s many goals from set pieces and stresses: “They’re very dangerous in that area. We must give them very few opportunities.”

The Berlin squad includes former Borussia player Tom Rothe, who has not missed a single minute at left-back in the current Bundesliga season.

No draws

Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin have met 14 times in the Bundesliga so far. Not one of those 14 encounters has ended in a draw. The Black & Yellows have celebrated ten wins over the Iron Ones, while Union Berlin have claimed all three points four times at their home ground, Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Mats-Yannick Roth

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.