BVB coach without personnel worries
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After the important Champions League victory in Copenhagen, Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Kovac demands the utmost attention from his team before the Saturday evening game against 1. FC Köln (6:30 p.m./”Sky”). “We have to be awake from the first minute, that wasn’t the way I imagined it would be in the last two games,” said the coach. “Now it’s the Bundesliga’s turn again and we need the three points,” said the coach.
Kovac expects a difficult game against the strong newcomers, who are only two places behind fourth-placed Dortmund. “This is an opponent who started well and has the euphoria of their numerous fans within them. They play quickly vertically forward and quickly look for their shots,” explained the BVB coach.
Cologne’s new whiz kid and three-time goalscorer Saïd El Mala (19) will of course be kept in mind – if he plays at all. “The little one has already shown great things. It’s important to guide him to where he’s not so strong,” said Dortmund’s coach. “I think we did really well in the game against Bayern against Luis Díaz and Michael Olise. And Cologne have a lot of good players. It’s not just about one,” emphasized Kovac. In the Bundesliga’s last market value update, the offensive youngster became Cologne’s most valuable professional with a whopping 15 million plus to 18 million euros.
BVB currently has no personnel problems. Serhou Guirassy (29) and Yan Couto (23) are a little sniffy. But nothing stands in the way of their use, says Kovac. The statistics show that they are favorites: In the last 24 home games against Cologne, Dortmund have only lost once – in a 2-1 defeat on November 28, 2020 thanks to a brace from Ellyes Skhiri (30).