Unbeaten Dortmund confident ahead of trip to ‘unique’ Bayern, says Kovac

Borussia Dortmund’s undefeated run has filled the team with confidence ahead of Der Klassiker at champions Bayern Munich on Saturday despite the hosts’ impressive 10-match winning streak in all competitions, coach Niko Kovac said on Thursday. (Reuters/File)

• “We are solid at the moment and that is the basis if you want to have any success,” Kovac said
• “What Bayern are doing is good but we are on a good path ourselves and ready to take on this tough challenge“

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund’s undefeated run has filled the team with confidence ahead of Der Klassiker at champions Bayern Munich on Saturday despite the hosts’ impressive 10-match winning streak in all competitions, coach Niko Kovac said on Thursday.
Kovac, who took over in the middle of last season, has seen Dortmund go unbeaten in Germany and Europe this term. They sit second in the Bundesliga, four points behind Bayern.
“We are solid at the moment and that is the basis if you want to have any success. Of course we know the form of Bayern — 10 wins from 10 games (across all competitions),” Kovac told a press conference in Dortmund.
“We are on 2.3 points per game (on average) which is pretty good but they are on three points. It is unique. It shows the quality of the team. But we want to keep playing successful football. We know we must invest a lot in Munich.
“What Bayern are doing is good but we are on a good path ourselves and ready to take on this tough challenge.”
Saturday’s match is the first of six away games in Dortmund’s next seven matches in all competitions, including Champions League trips to Copenhagen next week and Manchester City on November 5.
But Kovac said there was no sense trying to play it safe in Munich, with the Bavarians dominating matches from the start.
“Bayern win their games mostly in the first half. So it’s about keeping the game open for as long as possible,” he added. “We have to start well, be compact and keep the opponent away.
“If you act with a bit of fear in Munich it will be hard. It does not work for teams to go there and just defend. They score four goals per game. But we also have qualities in attack and we have to put pressure on them.”