Dortmund looking to build against St Pauli
Borussia Dortmund must take confidence from its 6-0 demolition of Union Berlin in the Bundesliga when it travels to face St. Pauli this weekend, according to coach Niko Kovac.
Kovac is going into his first meeting with St Pauli, with the Croatian hoping to mark the occasion with a victory against the side captained by Australia's Jackson Irvine.
Dortmund is 10th in the Bundesliga standings after 23 games of the season, but is just six points adrift of a European place for next year.
After earning his first league win since taking charge of Dortmund at the third attempt last time out, Kovac will be looking to guide Dortmund to consecutive wins for the first time this term.
"The way we won against Union was very important. We played dynamically, aggressively and intensely," Kovac said.
"That shows the players we can still do it. If we play as a team and as a unit, we'll get points.
"We have to build on this now. They (St Pauli) don't necessarily score a lot of goals, but they also concede very few.
"That means we have to do a lot to create chances - because they are very compact.
"We saw it in the last game, the more chances you create, the higher the probability that you will score goals."
St Pauli has only won one of its past 13 competitive meetings with Dortmund, losing 11 of them, but did emerge victorious in its last home game against the Schwarzgelben in January 2022.
It has been away from home, however, where Dortmund has struggled this season. It has collected only eight points on its travels so far.
Only Holstein Kiel and Bochum have been worse on the road in 2024-2025, with the sides occupying the bottom two in the division taking just three points away from home.
Dortmund's hopes of just a third success on its travels this campaign have been boosted by the return of Julian Brandt, who missed the 6-0 win over Union.
"He is an alternative for tomorrow. A muscle thing like that is not always completely without danger. We will have to make the right decisions," Kovac said.
"Felix Nmecha is still not there. Julian Ryerson had a mild flu infection. We had him in training, but he didn't feel like he could take part. He won't be in the matchday squad tomorrow."
Kovac also praised midfielder Marcel Sabitzer's performances in recent games, saying: "With his technique, his calmness and his overview, he can control a lot.
"He has a clean passing game and is tough in tackles. He's a link player between defence and attack - an important player for us."
After facing St Pauli, Dortmund will host Ligue 1 club Lille in a UEFA Champions Round of 16 first leg clash on Wednesday (AEDT).
