Doubt shouldn’t start to creep in. That’s why Peter Bosz is going into the match against the sixth division outfit with the same meticulousness as he would for a Champions League match.

As the winner of the South-Baden Cup, sixth division outfit FC Rielasingen-Arlen qualified for the first round. And cup winners Borussia Dortmund are taking the game on Saturday (kick-off 15:30 CET) in an almost sold-out Freiburg Schwarzwaldstadium as seriously as every one of their 54 potential matches this season.

“We are taking preparations very seriously before this match. Every opponent deserves respect,” emphasised Peter Bosz. “The most important thing is that we look at ourselves and play well from the beginning!” Doubt shouldn’t start to creep in, the opponent should never start to believe that they can beat the favourites. “As soon as the referee blows his whistle we have to be with it,” said Bosz.

"Happy with what I have seen so far"

There won’t even be any experimentation with the starting line-up. “We will be playing with the team which has been playing recently”. Only after the Press Conference did it become known that Ousmane Dembélé will be suspended for this match. As a result, new signing Maximilian Philipp will have a chance to impress, or André Schürrle after an injury. It is questionable whether Shinji Kagawa will be match fit and ready to start after a shoulder injury.

There will be a few significant players missing from action: Reus (part cruciate rupture), Schmelzer (lateral ligament damage), Guerreiro (ankle injury), Weigl (rehabilitation training), Rode (muscular tear), Durm (muscular problems) and Gӧtze (individual strain) will all not be available – another reason for the shifting of the match planned for Sunday in Zwickau.

Bosz, though, is still going into the match with a feeling of optimism after 5 weeks preparation. “I am happy with what I have seen so far” assured the Dutchman. Yet he was quick to point out - “we still aren’t where we want to be. But we have made some big steps forward.”

Boris Rupert

This is how they could line up