A lack of consistency and creativity

"We're not satisfied with our situation in the Bundesliga. There are two teams and four places between ourselves and a Champions League position. The team is strong enough to achieve this objective. And that's what we need to do," said head coach Edin Terzić at Thursday's press conference ahead of the game against TSG. Qualification for Europe's elite club competition is not only hugely important for the prestige that it brings, but for financial reasons as well. As is the case for many other clubs in the Bundesliga too, BVB – who usually have the highest attendances – have lost out financially due to all the games taking place behind closed doors. In their recently published financial figures, Borussia reported a loss of around €26 million in the first half of the 2020/21 financial year. Hence why it is becoming increasingly important for the 2011 and 2012 German champions to finish in the top four. But they are lacking consistency on the pitch at present. BVB have only once put together a four-game winning run – at the beginning of the first half of the season – and have otherwise won no more than two matches in a row.

The Black & Yellows had been hoping that the dismissal of Lucien Favre in December 2020 would prompt a turnaround in their Bundesliga form. After the 5-1 thrashing at the hands of VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 11, the powers-that-be at the club fired the Swiss tactician and installed assistant coach Edin Terzić as his successor on an interim basis until the end of the 2020/21 season. But the new man in the dugout has come in for criticism following the latest losses, with his side's style of play in particular generating negativity among fans and media alike. In their last match against SC Freiburg, BVB especially struggled with their build-up play. Their short passing game in the centre of the park hardly ever managed to beat the first line of pressing from a Freiburg side that piled on the pressure high up the pitch. Borussia are currently struggling to find solutions going forward. Thomas Delaney, the sole central defensive midfielder, had only 43 touches of the ball and was not involved anywhere near enough in Dortmund's build-up play. And Julian Brandt, who was playing ahead of him in the No. 10 role, was a peripheral figure who had only 23 touches of the ball in his 45 minutes on the pitch.  

There could be several changes to the starting XI for the match against TSG Hoffenheim, with several young players in the BVB squad justifiably hoping they can break into the line-up. "Youssoufa Moukoko posed a real threat in the match against Freiburg. He is entitled – like almost every player after the recent run of results – to hope for more playing time. We still have two training sessions remaining; everyone still has a chance to prove themselves," said Edin Terzić.

In TSG Hoffenheim, the Black & Yellows will be welcoming an opponent to Signal Iduna Park that has consistently proven to be a thorn in their side in recent years. On Matchday 34 of the 2019/20 season, TSG claimed a 4-0 victory in Dortmund to ensure a sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga and book their place in the UEFA Europa League group stages. A glance at their recent head-to-head shows that BVB have only managed to claim one victory in their last six Bundesliga meetings with the Kraichgau club: while Lucien Favre was still in the dugout, Borussia ran out 1-0 winners in the reverse fixture this season at the PreZero Arena thanks to a Marco Reus goal. The Dortmund captain will also be in the Borussia squad for the match on Saturday, although the home side will be without goalkeeper Roman Bürki, Marcel Schmelzer, Axel Witsel, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Thomas Meunier. Edin Terzić could not confirm at Thursday's press conference whether Thorgan Hazard would be ready to make his comeback against TSG either.

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