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Pre-Match Report

Kovac expects "battles and tackles" against Bochum

Borussia Dortmund are set to make the shortest away trip of the Bundesliga season: just 17 kilometres down the A40 by car separate SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Strobelallee from VfL Bochum's Ruhrstadion. Kick-off at Castroper Strasse is at 15:30 CET on Saturday (live on Sky).

After their 3-0 win away to Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League, BVB are looking to go one better in the Bundesliga. "We held our own in a very important game in Lisbon and stepped up a gear in the second half," explained BVB coach Niko Kovac, who is expecting a difficult game in Bochum: "There are a lot of teams who have had problems there. Leverkusen and Leipzig were held to draws. We don't want to win a beauty contest, we want to get the three points. That would be important to continue building confidence through results." 

After a short upturn in fortunes with a draw against Bremen and a win in Heidenheim, BVB lost their most recent home game against VfB Stuttgart 2-1 and remain 11th in the table. Julian Ryerson was shown a yellow card in the match against VfB and will have to sit out the game in Bochum. Ramy Bensebaini and Felix Nmecha are also still unavailable. Carney Chukwuemeka is out due to knee problems. Regarding Ryerson's absence at right-back, Kovac said: "We already have a good idea to compensate and I hope it works out". Kovac did not want to reveal much more, however. Yan Couto could be an option, Niklas Süle has also played in the position. The regular centre-back made his first appearance in the final few minutes of the match in Lisbon after a two-month injury lay-off. "He coped well with the training. But training is one thing, the match rhythm is something completely different," said Kovac, who nevertheless sees Süle as an alternative for Saturday's match.

Bochum fighting for survival

VfL Bochum are bottom of the table with 11 points. Bochum have just two wins to their name so far, but a third could still be awarded to them by the sports tribunal after a lighter struck their goalkeeper in the game away to Union Berlin (Matchday 14).

BVB's three most recent league games in Bochum have all ended 1-1, with the last win at Castroper Strasse coming in the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal in February 2023, when the Black & Yellows won 2-1. BVB also won the reverse fixture of the current season: on Matchday 5, Borussia came back from 2-0 down to win 4-2 after goals from Serhou Guirassy (2), Emre Can and Felix Nmecha.

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Although this is the first derby between BVB and VfL for Kovac in this role, he has been to the neighbouring city many times as a player and coach of other teams and knows what to expect: "Bochum are fighting to avoid relegation, Bochum need the points," said the BVB coach, adding: "And my boys clearly need to know what to expect. First and foremost, that means battles and tackles.  We have to win them, we have to accept them in order to leave the pitch as winners in the end."
Christina Reinke

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