Having won away in Berlin last time out, BVB are next in action when they face Fortuna Düsseldorf at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Saturday (7 December 2019, 15:30 CET). The Rhinelanders excelled in their first season following promotion to the Bundesliga but are presently languishing above the drop-zone this term. Lucien Favre was nonetheless full of respect for Fortuna at the press conference prior to their Matchday 14 meeting.

"They're very athletic and always get stuck into the tackles," said Favre said of his side's next opponents to the assembled crowd of journalists at the press conference. The BVB coach was also wary of how tight their clashes were last season. "We haven't had an easy time of it lately against Düsseldorf; they're still very difficult to play against despite their position in the table." The first fixture a year ago ended in a 2-1 defeat at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, with the second a narrow 3-2 home victory for the Black & Yellows in the final weeks of the season.

Other than the injured duo of midfielder Thomas Delaney and defender Marcel Schmelzer, who tore muscle fibres in training on Sunday, BVB have a full complement of players at their disposal. The recently injured Paco Alcácer, Julian Weigl and Manuel Akanji all returned to team training on Wednesday. "Paco has missed several sessions; in his case we need to wait and see tomorrow how ready he is for Saturday," said Favre of his centre-forward.

Another positive for Favre has been the fact he has had a full week to prepare his charges for the visit of Düsseldorf. "It was a very good week; it was fun," said the Swiss tactician as he reflected on their recent training sessions. "We were able to go more depth into things, which you can't do in weeks where you have three matches." BVB will be hoping to make that good work count against a beleaguered but highly motivated Fortuna side on Saturday.

BVB TV: The press conference with Lucien Favre