Kovac has no intention of experimenting with Dortmund's line-up
Dortmund's coach Niko Kovac gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund at the MHPArena. Harry Langer/dpa Despite holding a comfortable position in second place in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac has no intention of experimenting with the line-up. "Mathematically, anything is still possible.
Of course, we have a big advantage. But we want to keep winning games. I want to play with the players who deserve it.
Anyone can earn their place," Kovac in a news conference on Thursday. Ahead of the home match against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, Dortmund are 11 points ahead of third-placed RB Leipzig. "If we end up with three or four games where we might not need to win anymore because we've already secured second place, then I could maybe see that happening.
But even then, I know myself all too well, performance is always important," Kovac said. Dortmund and Leverkusen most recently match in the last 16 of the German Cup. Leverkusen won 1-0 as Dortmund were eliminated.
But Kovac stressed: "The Cup game is behind us. We played well. We lost in unfortunate circumstances.