Borussia Dortmund must take confidence from their 6-0 demolition of Union Berlin in the Bundesliga when they travel to face St. Pauli in Saturday's league clash. 

Those were the words of head coach Niko Kovac ahead of his first ever meeting with St. Pauli, with the Croatian hoping to mark the occasion with a victory. 

Dortmund find themselves 10th in the Bundesliga standings after 23 games of their season, but are 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 BVB 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 told reporters. 

"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 have only won one of their last 13 competitive meetings with Dortmund (D1 L11), but did emerge victorious in their last home game against them in January 2022.

It has been away from home, however, where Dortmund have struggled this season. They have collected only eight points on their travels so far.

Only Holstein Kiel and Bochum have been worse on the road in 2024-25, with the sides occupying the bottom two in the division taking just three points away from home.

And BVB's hopes of just a third success on their travels this campaign have been boosted by the return of Julian Brandt, who missed their 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 host Ligue 1 club Lille in a Champions League last-16 first leg clash on Tuesday.