Dortmund plan to use Euro success to fix their dire league form

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund want to use their high-flying Champions League for m to help turn around their dire Bundesliga fortunes when they host Borussia Moenchengladbach tomorrow.

Dortmund enjoyed a 4-1 romp at home to Galatasaray on Tuesday in a match which was twice halted due to crowd trouble when away fans set off fireworks. European football’s governing body Uefa are investigating.

It was Dortmund’s fourth straight European win to put them through to the Champions League’s knock-out phase and kept them top of the group.

But their domestic form is woeful after five straight German league defeats which has left them second-from-bottom in the table.

Jurgen Klopp’s side has another chance to turn their fortunes around against thirdplaced Gladbach, who are on a club record 17-match unbeaten run and held leaders Bayern Munich to a goalless draw a fortnight ago.

“It felt good to have won again against Galatasaray,” said Borussia’s veteran midfielder Sebastian Kehl, 35, who is set to make his 300th league appearance tomorrow.

“Now we need to prove that after a great Champions League match we can also pick up points in the Bundesliga.

“It would be cool if we can start doing that this weekend.”

Gladbach will again be without Swiss defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka, who has an ankle injury.

Dortmund need to be careful as both centre-backs, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Neven Subotic, are just one match away from suspension after each picked up four yellow cards this season.

Klopp is short on centrebacks with captain Mats Hummels out with a foot injury sustained in last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Bayern.

Pep Guardiola has said his Bayer n will now focus on improving their four-point lead in the Bundesliga after Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Roma secured both their place in the Champions League’s last 16 and confirmed them as group winners.

Munich are at Frankfurt today in a game which will go ahead despite the four-day rail strike which is set to hit Germany this weekend.

Bayer n are without leftback David Alaba who is expected to miss the rest of the year with a medial knee ligament injury.

Guardiola is set to rotate his squad after both Germany winger Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben sat out the win over Roma.

Bayer Leverkusen will be without five senior players, including captain Simon Rolfes for today’s visit of Mainz, following their 2-1 Champions League victory at St Petersburg.

Second-placed Wolfsburg are chasing their seventh straight win when they host strugglers Hamburg tomorrow.

Eighth-placed Schalke 04 are looking to pick up the pieces after their 4-2 defeat at Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday in the Champions League when they face Freiburg away.

Roberto di Matteo is looking for his fourth win in six games since taking charge. – Sapa-AFP