Both teams will be looking to make it three league wins on the spin when Borussia Dortmund host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Dortmund have beaten Union Berlin and Werder Bremen in recent weeks, while Frankfurt have defeated Heidenheim and Hoffenheim.
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However, those two victories both came on the road for Dortmund, with their last home match at Westfalenstadion ending in a 3-2 defeat to Hoffenheim.
Despite losing Marcel Sabitzer to a straight red card in first half injury time away to Werder Bremen last time out, Edin Terzic's side held onto their lead to claim a crucial win. Donyell Malen and Jadon Sancho had fired the visitors into a two-goal lead prior to Sabitzer's misdemeanour, but they faced a nervy finish after Justin Njinmah pulled one back 20 minutes from time.
As a result, they remained inside the guaranteed Champions League qualification zone, one point ahead of fifth-placed RB Leipzig. By the time they kick off against Frankfurt on Sunday, though, they could find themselves trailing their former manager's side should Leipzig avoid defeat away to relegation-threatened FC Koln as expected on Friday evening.
Terzic's side progressed to the quarter-finals of Europe's elite competition by dispatching PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in the second leg of their last-16 clash on Wednesday evening, with an early goal from Sancho setting them on their way. BVB survived a late scare when Luuk de Jong missed a guilt-edged chance, with Marco Reus scoring on the counter to set up an intriguing clash against Atletico Madrid in the last eight.
However, their attention must quickly return to domestic matters as they look to ensure they will be competing in the Champions League once again, with their dangerous opponents Frankfurt one of the teams chasing on their heels for a qualification spot.
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Frankfurt, of course, saw their latest European adventure come to an end at the hands of Belgian side Union SG in the first knockout round of the Europa Conference League. Union SG triumphed 4-3 on aggregate, but Dino Toppmoller's side will be hoping to be back in the Europa League next season.
Indeed, Die Adler have collected an impressive tally of 16 points from nine matches since returning from the winter break, with their 3-1 win against Hoffenheim last weekend opening up a sizeable seven-point lead over their seventh-placed opponents in the table.
John Brooks had opened the scoring after just six minutes for Hoffenheim, but the former Wolfsburg defender saw red 16 minutes later. Frankfurt made their numerical advantage count, with Robin Koch, Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe and Mario Gotze all getting on the scoresheet before Ozan Kabak's second bookable offence left the visitors with just nine men on the pitch for the latter exchanges.
If Toppmoller's side are to stand a realistic chance of pushing Dortmund and Leipzig for fourth or fifth position - the latter of which could offer a Champions League qualification spot, too, depending on Germany's coefficient - then they will surely need to spring an upset at Westfalenstadion on Sunday.
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Dortmund will be without Sabitzer for this match after his dismissal against Werder Bremen last weekend, meaning Salih Ozcan and Felix Nmecha are likely to be fighting for a place alongside Emre Can in central midfield. The former's defensive discipline may see him win that particular battle.
Sebastien Haller and Samuel Bamba remain sidelined by ankle and muscle injuries respectively, while Sancho will be out until after the international break after sustaining a hamstring injury against PSV. Club captain Reus should come in to replace the England winger.
Frankfurt, meanwhile, will remain without Sebastian Rode, Mehdi Loune, Sasa Kalajdzic and Jean-Matteo Bahoya due to injury problems. They appear to have lost Ebimbe for several weeks, too, after the 23-year-old suffered a knee injury after scoring against Hoffenheim last time out.
Ansgar Knauff could replace Ebimbe at right wing-back, but otherwise it would be a surprise if Toppmoller made any changes after winning that crucial encounter with relative ease.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Ozcan, Can; Reus, Brandt, Malen; Fullkrug
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Koch, Pacho; Knauff, Skhiri, Larsson, Nkounkou; Gotze, Chaibi; Marmoush
We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
These sides have lost just once each in nine league games apiece since returning from the winter break in January, so we expect to witness a high quality affair when they meet on Sunday.
Ordinarily, we would make Dortmund favourites to win this match, but Frankfurt will be fresher having already been eliminated from continental competition. We can envisage both teams being content with sharing the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Brett Curtis
