Fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday as they look to stay at the top of the battle for Champions League places. Dortmund is one point ahead of fifth-placed RB Leipzig and six points behind the Saxons at Christmas. Dortmund is a club that relies heavily on Champions League revenue and has only missed the top four once in the past 13 years. On Sunday, they face the same opponent whose season began to unravel last October.
After a 3-3 draw at Frankfurt, Dortmund lost four of their next nine games and the future of coach Edin Terzic is clouded.
Five months later, Dortmund look to have found their footing, losing just one of their last 14 games and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
Despite their wildly inconsistent performances – sometimes within the same game – they still posted strong results.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven, where Dortmund went from being completely in control to fighting tooth and nail.
Terzic could not explain the team’s inconsistency, telling DAZN: “We played our best 30 minutes of the season. Then in the second half, we completely stopped playing.
“We were happy with the first half and frustrated with the second half. We need to turn this phase from the first 30 minutes into a 90-minute show.”
One positive is that Jadon Sancho is back in form, having scored in the last two games and starting to look like the player who spent big money to move to Manchester United in 2021.
Sancho has struggled at United and has been left out of the first-team squad for much of the season following a dispute with manager Erik ten Hag.
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl couldn’t help but take a jibe at Sancho’s parent club after Wednesday’s win, saying “having Jadon in the squad makes every team richer.
“Obviously he needs time. Now he has rewarded himself with important goals.”
Sixth-placed Frankfurt has a strong record against top teams, beating Bayern Munich and Leipzig so far this season.
Dortmund’s top-four rivals Leipzig will face 16th-placed Cologne on Friday, giving them the opportunity to challenge Terzic’s side.
Top-of-the-table Bayern can keep their slim title hopes alive with a win away at bottom-of-the-table Darmstadt on Saturday.
Leverkusen remain unbeaten and 10 points clear with nine games remaining and face a tricky clash away to Freiburg on Sunday.
One to watch: Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)
Serhou Guirassy may have been the headline star for Stuttgart this season, but with 14 goals and five assists in 21 league games, he now provides a substitute for teammate Deniz Undav ) earned his first call-up to the national team.
“Deniz has a great ability to read spaces. He moves a lot, works hard and has a good nose for goals,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said on Thursday. The 27-year-old is now vying for the chance to represent the hosts at the European Championships in 2024.
Stuttgart were relegation candidates last season, and Undav joined on a season-long loan from Brighton this summer, helping the club rise to third place this season.
key statistics
67 – Leverkusen have 67 points with nine games remaining. Last year, Bayern and Dortmund were tied with 71 points after 34 games, with the Bavarians claiming the title on goal difference.
0 – Leverkusen remain unbeaten. No team has gone an entire Bundesliga season unbeaten.
1 – The league has lost one and won four of its six home games since Nenad Bjelica was appointed coach. They host Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Fixtures (1430 GMT unless otherwise stated)
Friday
Cologne v RB Leipzig (1930)
Saturday
Wolfsburg VS Augsburg, Union Berlin VS Werder Bremen, Heidenheim VS Monchengladbach, Darmstadt VS Bayern Munich, Mainz VS Bochum, Hoffenheim VS Stuttgart(1730)
Sunday
Freiburg v Leverkusen, Dortmund v Frankfurt (1630)
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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