Niko Kovac hopes that the loss of Bayern Munich in midweek will be a distraction in midweek that Borussia Dortmund can benefit from Saturday.
Bayern suffered a 2-1 home loss on Tuesday in their quarterfinals of the Champions League quarterfinals, where the return bone took place in Milan next week.
Dortmund also lost this week in Europe and suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat against Barcelona to end their Champions League run after the first stage.
Kovac expects to see a reaction from his team and said that Bayern can be distracted by their return bone in Italy and their better progress.
“Bayern has a tough task for them in Milan to play the draw,” Kovac told a press conference. “In their heads they can be a bit in Milan and we will have to take advantage of that in Munich.
“But that can only happen if we are 100%. If we use less than 100%, it is difficult to decide the game in our favor.”
Bayern is at the top of the Bundesliga at 68 points, six free from second place Bayer Leverkusen, while Dortmund is eighth at 41, five behind fourth place, leading to automatic Champions League qualification.
The shape of Dortmund has been improved lately; They have collected 12 points from their last six Bundesliga games (W4 D2), with only Bayern (13) and Leverkusen (15) who earn more in that period.
The Black and Yellow are also unbeaten in their last four Bundesliga matches against League Leaders (W1 D3), currently the longest run of all top-flight teams.
Kovac said, however, that his team should be much sharper than to Barcelona if they wanted a chance in Munich.
“If you play football, you have to work collectively and we didn't do that against Barcelona,” he added.
“That is what I have tackled and what we have to change for tomorrow's game because Bayern also has players of world class. If we don't, it will be difficult in Munich.
“This is what I ask, and I'll demand it [on Saturday] also.”
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