The last away match of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season is upon us: Borussia Dortmund travel to 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday, kick-off is scheduled for 18:30 CEST.

After reaching the Champions League final, Borussia now face Mainz in the Bundesliga. "We celebrated reaching the final properly. It was a very nice evening for us and the club. We enjoyed it," said BVB coach Edin Terzic, looking back on Tuesday, when BVB progressed to the biggest game in club football with a win away to Paris Saint-Germain. "Everyone came through the game well," explained Terzic with regard to the personnel situation. Sebastien Haller is not yet free of pain and will stay in Dortmund to continue his recovery.

As far as personnel is concerned, more rotations are to be expected in Mainz. Last weekend against Augsburg - between the two semi-final matches against Paris Saint-Germain - the coach made ten changes to his starting XI. "The rotation not only gives us physical and emotional freshness on the pitch, but we're also giving more players a chance with the aim of keeping up the momentum. Our season is a little longer now and we want to give everyone the opportunity to prove themselves and be involved in the big game," said Terzic, adding: "We'll try to find the right mix and put a really good team out on the pitch."

BVB are currently fifth in the table, three points behind Leipzig, and still have the chance to climb up one place. "We want to improve our situation as long as we can. But to do that, we need two wins," explained Terzic with a view to the last two Bundesliga games. "There's still a lot at stake for many teams. We want to make an impact with a good performance and focus on ourselves." Mainz are currently in the relegation play-off spot and locked in a tough fight for survival. Union Berlin, in the first non-relegation place, are one point away. FSV have not lost in seven games, with the last three matches all ending in draws (against Freiburg, Köln and Heidenheim).

After drawing 1-1 earlier in the season, BVB now want to take three points from Mainz to move up to fourth place and get ready for the Champions League final against Real Madrid. "We can still achieve something big. But that won't happen if we shift down a gear now," said Terzic, going on to add: "We want to make these weeks the best weeks of the season and we need a good performance to do that."
Christina Reinke

BVB-TV by 1&1: the press conference before the game in Mainz