Kovac demanding higher levels from Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund had to come from 2-0 down to beat Hamburg 3-2 last time out, and Niko Kovac wants a full 90-minute display from his team when it comes up against Stuttgart in its next Bundesliga clash.
Dortmund is nine points behind Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich with seven games to play, while third-placed Stuttgart is eight points further back.
Kovac knows his side will have to put on a full 90-minute display to come away from MHPArena with a positive result.
"We need to show over 90 minutes what we showed against Hamburg in the second half," he said.
"That will be crucial, because if we don’t manage that, it will certainly be much harder to get anything from the game.
"We want to win the game. Second against third – that's an interesting match and, of course, we want to win it."
Dortmund will be without midfielder Felix Nmecha, who is likely to miss the rest of the season after sustaining a knee injury against Hamburg.
"We have [Julian Brandt], a player who can replace him. We have Carney [Chukwuemeka]. We have one or two options," Kovac said.
"They are certainly highly motivated and ready for the weekend. But I don't want to make the decision now, I'll wait until Saturday [Sunday AEST].
