Borussia Dortmund don dey feel the heat as dem prepare to welcome Freiburg to Signal Iduna Park for Sunday night showdown. The Black and Yellows dey come from two straight defeats for Bundesliga, and the pressure dey on head coach Niko Kovac to make sure dem no drop points again.
According to reports, Kovac make four changes from the loss to Hoffenheim. Ramy Bensebaini, Julian Brandt, Samuele Inacio and Serhou Guirassy all come in for Niklas Sule, Daniel Svensson, Carney Chukwuemeka and Fabio Silva. The team dey look to bounce back and secure Champions League football for next season.
Dortmund dey currently second for the table, but their lead over third place don reduce to just a small gap. Sporting director Lars Ricken don already challenge the team to play more attractive football and accelerate youth development. Kovac never lose three consecutive Bundesliga games since he take charge of Dortmund, so all eyes dey on am to see how he go respond.
Freiburg, on the other hand, dey come from a painful extra-time defeat to Stuttgart for DFB-Pokal semi-final. But dem still get European semi-final for Europa League against Braga wey dey coming up. Coach Julian Schuster make seven changes from that cup loss, bringing in Noah Atubolu, Lukas Kübler, Christian Günter, Bruno Ogbus, Nicolas Höfler, Derry Scherhant and Lucas Höler.
Freiburg dey currently seventh for Bundesliga, just one point ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt. Dem go need victory to build on their top-seven finish and also keep momentum for Europe. But with the Europa League tie dey next Thursday, some people think dem fit prioritize that one.
For Dortmund side, Karim Adeyemi dey out with muscular injury, Emre Can dey sideline with knee problem, and Niklas Sule dey expected to return to bench after managing 42 minutes against Hoffenheim. Felix Nmecha go miss his fourth straight match with same knee issue.
Freiburg go miss midfielder Patrick Osterhage, wey don dey out since March. Max Rosenfelder dey out with hamstring injury since February, and Jordy Makengo and Philipp Treu dey doubtful.
Lineups don announce and players dey warm up. Dortmund go line up with Kobel; Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Bellingham, Sabitzer, Svensson; Beier, Brandt; Silva. Freiburg go start Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Ogbus, Gunter; Eggestein, Manzambi; Beste, Suzuki, Scherhant; Holer.
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