Dortmund are placed fifth in the table, one point behind fourth placed Eintracht Frankfurt with five games remaining and desperately need a win to keep themselves in contention for the European spot.
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Borussia Dortmund host RB Leipzig at the Westfallenstadion on Saturday in a bid to keep themselves in contention for the Champions League qualification. Dortmund are placed fifth in the Bundesliga table, one point behind fourth placed Eintracht Frankfurt with five games remaining. Leipzig and Dortmund booked their ticket for the DFB Pokal final last weekend and will meet again on May 14th. Dortmund are coming into the match on the back of four wins in their previous five league games whereas, Leipzig have won just two.
RB Leipzig are placed second in the Bundesliga points table with 64 points from 31 games. They are 13 points adrift the league leaders Bayern Munich who have played the same number of games.
For Leipzig, catching Bayern is a bit difficult but they have a healthy nine point lead over fifth placed Dortmund.
Leipzig’s head coach Julian Nagelsmann will be leaving the club at the end of the season to take charge of Bayern Munich and the German would certainly want to leave with a trophy. Therefore, the Cup final would be more important for Leipzig.
Leipzig beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in a thrilling DFP-Pokal semifinal on Saturday courtesy of extra time goals from Hwang Hee-Chan and Emil Forseberg. Dortmund had a comparatively easy outing as they beat second division team Holstein Keil 5-0 on Sunday.
For Dortmund both the games would be important to get something out of a below par season for them. BVB would certainly want to qualify for the Champions League next season so that they can hold on to the talented players they have at their disposal. A trophy or a Champions League qualification is very much needed for the team in black-and-yellow.
Dortmund’s star striker Erling Haaland is out with an injury and is unlikely to comeback against Leipzig. Interim coach Edin Terzic is likely to go with the same attacking line up as the one against Holstein Kiel in the German Cup semi-final.
The front four of Hazard, Reus, Sancho and Reyna have been in good form and the Leipzig defence will need to be wary of them. The East German team might rest some of its key players keeping one eye on the Cup final.
The last time both these teams faced off against each other in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund won 3-1 courtesy of a second half brace from Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and a goal from Jordan Sancho.
Dortmund have a clear edge in the head-to-head record as they have won five, lost two and drawn two.
