Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart will kick off Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga season on Friday evening. "They have stabilised," said BVB head coach Marco Rose prior to the away game in Swabia.

There are no major personnel changes at BVB compared to last weekend. Although Jude Bellingham has hardly been able to train this week due to a painful dead leg, he is expected to return in time for the final training session on Friday. "Erling Haaland's ankle isn't perfect but it's okay," said BVB coach Marco Rose of his striker, who played a part in the 4-1 defeat against Leipzig on Saturday.

"We're feeling the after-effects of the Leipzig game, we want to show a reaction to that tomorrow," said Rose, who has analysed the defeat with his players. "There was a lot of disappointment in the stadium and among ourselves after the game. Tomorrow we have the chance to put that into perspective and turn in another direction."

VfB are currently in 15th place in the table, one point above the relegation play-off place. After going through February without a win, the Swabians have claimed two 3-2 home victories (against Mönchengladbach and Augsburg) and two 1-1 away draws (against Union Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld) in their last four outings. "Stuttgart have stabilised," Rose said. "They have developed an unbelievable power going forward and now play with great tempo in a 4-3-3. A team that will need to be bent out of shape tomorrow. That's the task that we're focused on."

There are six Bundesliga matches remaining this season. "We're aiming to finish the campaign on the most successful note we can," said Rose. "The fixture list is nearing the end. Now it's all about each team battling to achieve their final placements, we'll need to stay alert and attentive." The next opportunity to do so comes in Stuttgart on Friday.
Christina Reinke

BVB TV by 1&1: Press conference prior to the game in Stuttgart