Pre-match report
"It's all still to play for!"
Borussia Dortmund will face Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion in their penultimate away game of the season. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, both Lucien Favre and Michael Zorc agreed that it's all still to play for!
In Bremen on Saturday, Lucien Favre is expecting to come up against "a very good team. They're dangerous, can play very good football and counter-attack at speed." The Borussia Dortmund head coach added: "We'll need to produce a top-level performance if we're to win there." The Green & Whites have already shown − both in the DFB Cup Round of 16 (SVW progressed on penalties) and the reverse fixture in the league (2-1 to BVB) − that they're a force to be reckoned with.
A glance at the table shows that the Black & Yellows will have no choice but to take all three points on Saturday if they are to keep their title tilt alive. Although heads dropped following their derby defeat, "everything is still to play", says Favre. Sporting director Michael Zorc added: "Directly after the match we were feeling really low, but now everything is possible again. And for as long as it is still possible, it must be our approach and our obligation to do everything in our power to become German champions." He continued: "Everyone knows the table and knows what is required from the Bremen match." According to Favre, "the players are aware of the table too. We know it's all still to play for and that we need to win our next game – there's no other solution."
In terms of personnel, the BVB boss will be without long-term injury absentee Achraf Hakimi (broken metatarsal) and the suspended Marius Wolf and Marco Reus on Saturday. "There's not much point talking about it. He's suspended but will fortunately be available for the last Bundesliga match," said Favre of his absent captain. It remains to be seen whether Lukasz Piszczek will be ready on time. "He's trained with us the whole week and will do so again today. Then we'll need to see whether it's enough," explained the Swiss tactician. Despite feeling under the weather himself, Favre made it clear he would be on the touchline at the weekend. "I won't be taking any antibiotics this time, I'll grin and bear it."