Jürgen Klopp spent Wednesday night at home watching football. The DFB Cup and the Spanish ‘Clasico’ - and last weekend’s Mainz versus Bremen clash in the Bundesliga. And what the Dortmund coach saw on television was an impressive 3-0 win by his former team: “Mainz are in good shape.”

Saturday’s match will be Borussia Dortmund’s penultimate home game of the season, and they will look to claim the three points they need to secure Champions League football next season. And with the German cup final coming up on 17 May, they will also look to stay in rhythm and “on track”, as Jürgen Klopp put it.

Mainz also have their eyes on a prize, namely an Europa League spot. Seventh place will be good enough this season to secure qualification, and a win on Saturday would edge them three points closer to their goal. Klopp said on Thursday that he is delighted by the development his former club has taken, calling them a “respected and established Bundesliga side”. He was also full of praise for their president Strutz, their general manager Heidel and their coach Tuchel, saying: “There are the right people in the right place.”

The three Mainz officials have formed a team that is aggressive and plays attacking football from the first minute to the last, and on Saturday it will have the advantage of coming to Signal Iduna Park fresh and rested. “We will need to make it as difficult as possible for Mainz,” said Klopp in the build-up to his side’s 11th game in 35 days. “That’s why we will have to fight hard. My team has shown on several occasions that they are capable of doing that.” Showing character and will, Borussia came back from behind to beat Stuttgart and Wolfsburg before picking up an unexpected win at Bayern to claim nine points from the last three games. Klopp: “Given the remaining fixtures, I’m happy that we got them.”

The Dortmund coach announced “one or two changes“, and promised: “We will bring in some freshness.” Kirch and Jojic, for example, could be starting after having cemented themselves as an option in the positions that require a great deal of running. Kehl is doubtful with a groin injury, while Weidenfeller, who’s nursing a similar problem, is set to miss the Mainz clash. “We were thinking about taking him off on Tuesday, but we had to get Lewi off at the same time.” Weidenfeller remained on the pitch (and pulled off some great saves), while Lewandowski got substituted in time and should be available for Saturday.