Niko Kovac: "The winner reaches the Europa League last eight"

ScenarioBoth teams faced Bodø/Glimt during the league phase, and both squandered their chance to improve their position in the table by drawing 2-2 with the Norwegians: instead of fifth (Tottenham) and fourth (Dortmund), the penultimate matchday will see “eleventh against tenth”. Despite being only one point behind, neither team have direct control over reaching the round of 16. “If we don’t make it tomorrow, for whatever reason, it’s not the end of the world,” emphasised Niko Kovac: “I said at the beginning of the Champions League season: we want to reach the play-off phase.” The clubs in ninth to 24th place will reach this stage. Ambitions“We want to win, and to do that we have to deliver a top performance,” said Borussia Dortmund’s head coach 26 hours before kick-off: “It’s an important game. We are neighbours in the table. The winner will still have the chance to reach the last eight. But we also know that Tottenham have won their first three home games without conceding a goal. That means we have to work hard, work a lot, and work with focus.” Advertisement Personnel mattersIn addition to Salih Özcan, who is not registered for the competition, Marcel Sabitzer is still out. The calf injury he suffered in the match against Bremen – “nothing too serious,” according to Kovac – will keep the Austrian sidelined for a few more days. Ramy Bensebaini has recovered from his cold and is available for selection, even from the start. And Aaron Anselmino is back. Kovac does not have any specific plans for him yet, but he is looking ahead: “We want him to be there so that he realises he is important to us. I expect him to play a lot more minutes in the next few games than perhaps tomorrow.”