Borussia Dortmund head into Saturday’s Klassiker against Bayern Munich with their season hanging in the balance, just days after a humbling 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
The timing could hardly be worse for Niko Kovac’s side, whose hopes of a European turnaround are slim and whose Bundesliga campaign is teetering on collapse.
Outpaced and repeatedly exposed on the break in Spain, Dortmund now shift focus to a domestic clash that could determine their Champions League fate next season.
Currently sitting eighth in the Bundesliga, Dortmund are five points adrift of fourth place with six games left. Defender Nico Schlotterbeck has been ruled out for the rest of the season, further weakening a side that Kovac admits must “defend much better” if they’re to have any chance in Munich.
Failure to qualify for Europe entirely remains a real threat, a scenario that would be disastrous for a club that reached last season’s Champions League final.
Meanwhile, league leaders Bayern Munich have their own motivations following a 2-1 defeat to Inter Milan in midweek.
Vincent Kompany’s men are eager to restore momentum ahead of next week’s second leg and preserve their six-point cushion over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race.
Injuries have plagued Kompany’s squad, but there is hope that Aleksandar Pavlovic could return from illness to bolster the midfield.
With silverware still in reach both domestically and in Europe, Bayern will be determined to assert control in one of German football’s biggest fixtures.
