Borussia Dortmund travel to Hamburg this Saturday in search of their fifth consecutive win in the Bundesliga, with Jurgen Klopp hoping Marco Reus will return to the fray.
BVB notably propped up the league table following the winter break, collecting just 16 points from the first 18 games. However, the 2013 German champions have hit form in recent weeks and now lay third in the form table, one point behind Bayern Munich and Vfl Wolfsburg respectively.
A 3-0 win in the Revierderby victory against Schalke last weekend made it four consecutive victories for Die Schwarzgelben, who now lie seven points off a Europa League spot.
The hosts have taken just a solitary point from their last three outings and are currently struggling to fend off relegation in 15th place. Speculation suggests that manager Josef Zinnbauer’s position may depend on the outcome of the match, with Die Rothosen one point above the drop zone.
Dortmund do not have a good record against their lowly opposition, winning four of their last five matches at the Imetch Arena. Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored a first-half winner in the reverse fixture at the Westfalenstadion.
Hoping to dispel this bad record, Klopp will hope to call upon in-form duo Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The two forwards have scored nine of their club’s 13 goals in the last four victories but both have suffered recent knocks. The latter returned to full training on Thursday, but Reus is facing a race against time following a bruised knee picked up in a German Cup win over Dynamo Dresden.
The 25-year-old is one of the most sought after talents in Europe, with seven goals and three assists in 13 games this season, but could join Lukasz Piszczek, Kevin Großkreutz and Erik Durm on the sidelines.
Klopp stated: "The bruise is dividing itself up into all kinds of colours all over his thigh. We are doing everything so that we'll get it fixed. Every hour is critical. I can't say yet whether it will be enough for him to be ready for Saturday."