Borussia Dortmund will attempt to snatch a Champions League spot on the final day of the season when they play host to relegated Holstein Kiel on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund’s Champions League hopes had seemingly disappeared when they went into the March international break in 11th place and 10 points adrift from the top four. However, they have since rekindled their Champions League aspirations with an impressive run of form that has seen them drop just two points in their last seven league games.

After beating Mainz and Freiburg, Dortmund went on to play out a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich, before they put together a four-game winning run against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen. Niko Kovac’s Side came from a goal down to claim a 4-2 victory over die Werkself last weekend, courtesy of goals from Julian Brandt, Julian Ryerson, Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy.

As a result of their recent form, fifth-placed Dortmund are just one point adrift of Freiburg in fourth position and three points adrift of Eintracht Frankfurt in third spot. Their hopes of clinching a top-four finish appear to be boosted by the fact that Freiburg and Frankfurt will face one another on the final day of the season.

They will clinch Champions League qualification if they better Freiburg’s result, or if they win by at least a three-goal margin. There is also a scenario where they can secure a top-four finish with a win by a two-goal margin, as long as Freiburg do not beat Frankfurt with a high score.

Dortmund are unable to call upon the services of Nico Schlotterbeck and Maximilian Beier due to injury. Meanwhile, midfielder Pascal Groß is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Holstein Kiel

Holstein Kiel’s first Bundesliga has ultimately ended in disappointment after their relegation was confirmed with a 2-1 defeat to Freiburg last weekend. They entered that match in a positive mood following a three-game unbeaten run that added seven points to their tally. In fact, Kiel got off to the perfect start against Freiburg, taking a 24th-minute lead through Lasse Rosenboom. However, they conceded an equaliser in first-half stoppage time, before a Lucas Höler winner condemned them to the second tier.

The 17th-placed side will still be keen to finish their maiden top-flight season on a high, as they prepare for their first away meeting with Dortmund since May 2021. However, they may not have too many fond memories of that trip because they fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals, conceding all five goals before half time. They may be fearing another big scoreline, considering the fact that they have the Bundesliga’s worst defensive record with 77 goals conceded in 33 games.

The visitors have at least proven to be a tough team to beat on the road in recent times, having won two, drawn two and lost just one of their previous five away matches. They can also take confidence from January’s reverse fixture when they recorded a memorable 4-2 victory against Dortmund at Holstein-Stadion.

Marcel Rapp will be without Ivan Nekic, Andu Kelati, Marco Komenda and Patrick Erras. Meanwhile, Armin Gigovic is suspended after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the Bundesliga season last weekend.