Stöger Keeping His Cards Close to His Chest Before Return Leg

"We must be careful and remain concentrated for 95 minutes. Atalanta are a very good team", warned senior defender Sokratis, while Peter Stöger pointed to the "10 or 15 minutes" in the first leg "when we weren't very active. The opposition took advantage of that immediately. We have been warned."

Borussia Dortmund want to bag themselves a ticket for the round of 16. "The most important thing is that we don't lose", stressed BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke before the flight out. Though he is also expecting "a tough task, we did win the first leg of the tie and know that we'll make it through to the next round with a draw".

The team certainly want to avoid a nervy encounter, which would be the case if the two sides are at parity towards the end of the game. "We want to win, and I hope we will be able to come out on top in the end", said Sokratis. "We did of course win the first game. But tomorrow is a different match. If we are not 100% present, then we could lose."

Peter Stöger would not be drawn on whether he will bring Marcel Schmelzer straight back in after what turned out to be a longer layoff ("He is an option, otherwise he wouldn't be here"), and highlighted the obvious ("Every player that returns raises the quality of the squad and gives you additional options"). He announced that he would talk with Marco Reus this evening at the earliest about whether it makes sense to start him for the fourth time in 13 days after such a long time out. "When he feels good and when he is at maximum fitness, then it is inconceivable to leave him out of the team", said Stöger. Who will replace the suspended Julian Weigl is a question that also remained unanswered: "There are two or three options, including those that would change the system." 
Boris Rupert