RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Kovac ahead of the HSV match: “Three points are essential!”
The scenario
BVB has completed an intense and demanding preseason. Head coach Niko Kovac has only been training with a full squad for a few weeks, as players such as Gregor Kobel, Julian Ryerson, Ramy Bensebaini, and Marcel Sabitzer did not return from their World Cup break until later. In their last two friendly matches against Arsenal (3–2) and AS Roma (2–2), Borussia Dortmund showed strong performances across all areas of the team and demonstrated its great potential. This was also evident in the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup against FC Bayern Munich, even though the match against the double champions ended in a 1–2 loss.
Kovac is determined to continue on the path his team has taken in the Bundesliga as well: “We had a very good team last season, and we have a good team again this year, with a lot of talent. I do believe the team has the quality to achieve our goals. Right now, we’re still finding our footing a bit and don’t quite know where we stand yet,” said the 54-year-old, who summed up the final phase of preseason—featuring matches against Arsenal, Roma, and Munich—as “good on the whole.”
Squad
On Saturday, two long-term absentees—Nico Schlotterbeck (ankle) and Emre Can (knee)—will still be unavailable. Ramy Bensebaini was sidelined for a few days after suffering bruised ribs in the Super Cup match and has recently only been able to train individually. However, Niko Kovac did not want to rule out the defender’s participation just yet and kept his options open: “We’ll see tomorrow how things develop for the weekend. If Ramy isn’t available, we’ll find a good solution,” the Dortmund coach said on Thursday.
Overall, Kovac is emphatically satisfied with the squad situation so close to the first Bundesliga match: “We have a good squad and are covered at every position—in some cases, even with three players. Everyone has to face this competitive situation. That’s a good thing—competition keeps things lively. If you don’t have competition, you become complacent.” With Kosta Karetsas, Giannis Konstantelias, Joane Gadou, and Joey Veerman, four new signings are set to make their Bundesliga debuts—all of whom had already played their first competitive match for BVB in the Super Cup against Bayern Munich.
Opponent
After avoiding relegation as a promoted team in 2025/26, HSV has once again undergone a major shakeup. Prominent names like Luka Vuskovic, Fabio Vieira, Robert Glatzel, and Ransford Königsdörffer have left the Rothosen, and Jean-Luc Dompé is also likely to leave and is currently on leave. Consequently, head coach Merlin Polzin has had to rebuild the HSV roster. New signings like forward Patson Daka and midfielder Martin Adeline have already made an impact. Albert Grønbæk, who has since signed a permanent contract, has also been a major asset recently. The Dane scored two goals in HSV’s 3-0 cup victory over SC Verl and had already found the net in three preseason friendlies. With Sebastiaan Bornauw, the team has also brought in a center back with Bundesliga experience to provide more stability in the back line.
“We’ll certainly face a team that plays compactly and transitions well. They also have quality up front,” Kovac warns about the visitors from the north. At the same time, he leaves no doubt about his expectations for the home game against HSV: “We want to apply pressure right away at home and win the game. We want to get off to a good start to the season, and for that we need three points. Three points are essential!”
A spectacular match is almost guaranteed
For years, Borussia Dortmund versus Hamburger Sportverein was the highest-scoring matchup in Bundesliga history, before HSV was relegated from the top flight for seven years. Then this traditional rivalry lost its unique distinction to the BVB versus VfB Stuttgart matchup. After HSV’s return to the Bundesliga, the rivalry picked up where it left off in 2017–18: Seven goals were scored in the 2025–26 season’s home-and-away series. In the first match, BVB conceded a late 1–1 equalizer in stoppage time at the Volksparkstadion. At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in March of this year , the Black and Yellows came back from a 0–2 deficit to secure a 3–2 victory . A total of 370 goals have been scored in 104 Bundesliga matches between the two clubs—an average of 3.6 per game. This matchup has never ended scoreless in Dortmund. Mats-Yannick Roth
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