The football world will have to wait until 19:30 CET on Friday evening to find out whether Marco Reus will feature in the Bundesliga game against FC Augsburg – either as a substitute or a starter. The coach and captain themselves will not have made a definitive decision on the latter's comeback until shortly before then.

But regardless of whether Reus returns, Borussia Dortmund will head to Augsburg on the back of an important victory over a strong opponent. "It was an important moment to win again. It was very difficult. Leverkusen played really well. They were very strong," said Lucien Favre, who is hoping the win will boost self-confidence and help the players to rediscover some of the things that were coming automatically earlier in the campaign. In any case, Thomas Delaney is not concerned. "Every season has such spells. No team plays at the same level from August to May," declared the Dane.

Of the opposition, the coach said: "We need to prepare ourselves for several scenarios. They played brilliantly here." The 4-3 victory for the Black & Yellows in the reverse fixture was one of the most spectacular games of the season, won only by Paco Alcácer's free-kick at the death. "They almost played man on man, yet they were very high and applied pressure," said Favre of FCA's unique style of play. Commenting on their form, which has not been good of late, the Swiss tactician said: "In the matches that they lost, they've always had a lot of goalscoring chances." (br)