BVB versus FCB "always a highlight" for Niko Kovac | OneFootball

"BVB versus FCB is always a highlight. It's an evening game, it will be broadcast in more than 200 countries. That shows how much impact this fixture has," said BVB coach Niko Kovac of the clash away to Bayern Munich. It is the last in a run of three successive away games, following the victory in Freiburg and the defeat in Barcelona. Despite the 4-0 setback in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in midweek, BVB will be looking to continue their improving away form in the Bundesliga and claim their third win in a row at national level – the triumph in Freiburg had been preceded by a home victory over Mainz. "We have to try to differentiate: we need to put the Champions League to one side and put the focus on the two Bundesliga games against Mainz and Freiburg, because it's a match against a title contender," Kovac said.

On the personnel front, the coach is still without the injured Nico Schlotterbeck and Marcel Sabitzer – but there were no additional injuries in the game against Barcelona. Pascal Groß will make his return to the squad after serving a suspension for accumulated bookings. "We had a day of regeneration in Barcelona," said Kovac of the post-match workload. The team subsequently flew back to Dortmund, before hitting the road again and heading to Munich this Friday. The final training session took place on home soil between the two journeys. "It's a case of running off the fatigue. We need to be fresh tomorrow. Lots will happen in terms of video analysis again. Barcelona and Bayern are similar to each other. They are both teams that have a great deal of possession, rotate a great deal and are technically very strong. All of that awaits us again tomorrow and we need to do better than we did in Barcelona."

"We have to work hard"

The record champions are currently back in top spot in the table and have won their last two matches in a row in the Bundesliga. The men from Munich also suffered a defeat in their Champions League match – by a 2-1 scoreline at home to Inter Milan. "Bayern Munich have the tough task of turning the tie around in Milan. Their heads will definitely be in Milan a bit too. We have to try to use that to our advantage," said Kovac, who also said of the opposition: "Everyone knows that Bayern Munich are the team with the highest amount of ball possession in the Bundesliga. That means that we have to be ready to run a lot and make a lot of sprints to close down the passing channels." In attack, the coach demanded that "the most is made of the moments we get on the ball. It's about everyone being courageous, everyone demanding the ball in order to go forward. We have to work hard and ruthlessly take the opportunities Bayern Munich give us."

The reverse fixture last November ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Jamie Gittens had fired the Black & Yellows into a 1-0 lead in that match. Borussia's most recent away match in the Bavarian state capital ended in victory for BVB. Almost exactly one year ago, Karim Adeyemi and Julian Ryerson scored the goals in a 2-0 triumph.

Another triumph on Saturday will give the Black & Yellows additional momentum as they look to make up ground on the international spots. "We have to make sure first of all that we put in a good performance tomorrow. Then we'll see what the bottom line is," said Kovac, adding: "Every single person – coaching staff and players – must go their limits. Because we can only get something in Munich together."Christina Reinke