Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac will have to do without several key players in the clash against Borussia Mönchengladbach, but he can also welcome back some returning players.
On Friday (December 19, 8:30 p.m.), Borussia Dortmund will face Borussia Mönchengladbach at a sold-out Signal Iduna Park. Before the Bundesliga teams head into the winter break, BVB coach Niko Kovac wants his team to pick up three points. To the delight of millions of soccer fans, the Borussia duel will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV. The private broadcaster Sat.1 is changing its schedule for this and will broadcast the match on Friday evening immediately after the finale of the 15th season of “The Voice of Germany.” At the same time, a free livestream will be available on the Joyn platform. The two center backs Aaron Anselmino and Waldemar Anton will be missing for BVB. In addition, Ramy Bensebaini is away with the Algerian national team at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Jobe Bellingham is suspended due to his red card in the game against SC Freiburg. However, Kovac can also welcome back a few players compared to the Freiburg game. Marcel Sabitzer, Julian Brandt, and Salih Özcan are back in the squad. “They completed training on Thursday and will have a light session on Friday before heading to the hotel. That means we have a few more options against Gladbach than we did in the last game,” the coach revealed ahead of the match.
After a disastrous start to the season under coach Eugen Polanski, Gladbach have found their way back on track and are currently eleventh in the table. BVB are in third place and could move into second place over the winter break with a win and a simultaneous defeat for RB Leipzig against Bayer Leverkusen.
We have to set the stadium alight again on Friday together with our fans so that we can win the game.
Niko Kovac
“Everyone saw that they struggled at the start of the season, but Eugen Polanski has stabilized and normalized them. They have made good progress in recent games,” explained Kovac. “There were constant changes between a back four and a back five, but I think they’ve now established a system. They’re a very difficult team to play against, they defend very well and will look to take their chances on the counterattack.”
Although the BVB coach is expecting a difficult game, Kovac has faith in his team’s strengths. He also emphasized that a home win in the last game of the year is the clear goal. “We’ve picked up seven points in the last three Bundesliga games and want to end the year with a win. We have to set the stadium alight again on Friday together with our fans so that we can win the game,” Dortmund’s coach made clear.