The reporters had one question on their minds at the pre-match press conference: how do Borussia Dortmund − whose defence will be without Manuel Akanji and Dan-Axel Zagadou, and potentially Lukasz Piszczek too − plan to effectively halt the Eintracht Frankfurt goal machine? Lucien Favre and Michael Zorc offered compelling answers.

The attacking triumvirate of Luka Jovic (13), Sebastien Haller (11) and Ante Rebic (seven) account for 31 of Eintracht's 39 Bundesliga goals this season. "Yes, they're extremely dangerous. They can counter, they can play and they're very clever in front of goal," declared Lucien Favre. But they are not the only danger men, he warned, citing the overlapping full-backs and the attacking runs of Gazinovic from midfield as examples. "It's going to be difficult in Frankfurt. We know that." But the coach did have some reassuring words for the BVB faithful. "Diallo is back, Ömer is back. We've dealt with it very well so far." And going forward it seems as if a return could be on the cards for some absentees. "There's very good news regarding Akanji," said Favre, and Zagadou is slowly returning to training. "That's all very positive."

However, his team will continue to be without those two key central defenders in Frankfurt. And there are question marks surrounding the involvement of full-back Lukasz Piszczek too. The Pole injured his foot having "landed awkwardly" in the Hannover match. Favre commented: "I cannot say at this point whether he'll be able to play. We'll decide tomorrow."

But back to the Eagles and their front three. To keep Jovic, Haller and Rebic at bay, it will be important to cut off the "supply lines", explained Zorc, who is full of optimism ahead of the league leaders' meeting with fifth-placed Frankfurt. He said: "The coach will try to find the correct answers."
Boris Rupert