5 reasons Dortmund will qualify for Europe | OneFootball

5 reasons Borussia Dortmund will still qualify for Europe

Seventh in the table and two points outside the top six, Borussia Dortmund are in unfamiliar territory heading into their final four matches of the 2024/25 season - but on a timely upward trajectory. bundesliga.com explains why BVB can bridge the gap and qualify for Europe...

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1) One focus, one objective

Dortmund were desperately unlucky to go out of the UEFA Champions League a week or so ago, beating Barcelona 3-1 at home but ultimately falling at the quarter-final stage 5-3 on aggregate.

Did they wallow? Not a bit. Victory over top-six rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach lifted them up to seventh - their highest standing since Matchday 15 - whilst extending their unbeaten run to four. There's even talk of a top-four finish, with the Champions League qualification places a surmountable four points in the distance.

2) Goal-rassy and the gang

Goals win games, so it’s just as well Dortmund have those in abundance. Only Bayern Munich (87), Bayer Leverkusen (64), Eintracht Frankfurt (58) and VfB Stuttgart (56) have outscored BVB this season. The Black-Yellows are even higher up the ladder for Rückrunde goals, with 25 to Bayern’s 34.

Serhou Guirassy’s the main man in the final third, the summer 2024 signing producing 29 goals in all competitions, including 16 in the Bundesliga. Maximilian Beier has found his feet with five goal contributions in his last five Bundesliga games, while Karim Adeyemi has returned to favour and form since Niko Kovač took charge at the end of January.

3) The Kovač factor

Dortmund's top brass will be beginning to feel fully vindicated for bringing in Kovač in the wake of Nuri Şahin's dismissal. BVB have taken 16 points from a possible 30 under the Croatian, who previously won the DFB Cup with Frankfurt and a domestic double at the Bayern helm.

Recent performances, in particular, highlight how Kovač's ideas are taking hold. Dortmund responded to defeat to Leipzig by beating the two clubs directly above them in the current standings - Mainz and Freiburg - before holding leaders Bayern to a 2-2 draw and displaying some of the swagger of Dortmund teams of old in the win over Gladbach.

4) History on their side

As well as Kovač's top-level experience, the Ruhr club have some serious continental pedigree in their favour. BVB haven't missed out UEFA competition since 2009/10, notably qualifying for the Champions League for the last 10 seasons in a row. With European rookies such as Mainz and Freiburg among their top-six rivals, that has to be a huge psychological advantage down the back straight.

5) Favourable fixtures

Dortmund also have a pretty favourable run-in. Hoffenheim (a) and Wolfsburg (h) are up next, before games against holders Leverkusen (a) and bottom side Holstein Kiel (h). The first two are pretty much out of the relegation woods and European contention, while Leverkusen may very well have been dethroned by the time the penultimate weekend rolls around. Similarly, there's every chance Kiel will have been relegated before a ball is kicked on Matchday 34.

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