Niko Kovac has urged his Borussia Dortmund team to harness the "power and energy" created inside Westfalenstadion ahead of facing Inter in the Champions League. 

Kovac's men welcome the Serie A leaders to Dortmund on Wednesday, with just one point and two places separating the two sides in the 36-team league phase standings. 

Dortmund are 16th while Inter have 13 points, with both teams knowing a victory could propel them into the automatic qualification spots for the last 16 of the competition. 

However, BVB have home advantage. Across their last 21 Champions League matches in front of their own supporters, they have lost just once (W13 D7).

That sole defeat came to Barcelona in December 2024, while Kovac remains unbeaten at home in the competition since he replaced Nuri Sahin last year (W3 D3).

"This stadium has immense power and energy, which we want to harness," Kovac told reporters. 

Dortmund have hosted Inter on three occasions in European competition (W1 D1 L1), with those matches averaging 4.3 goals per game (six goals for Dortmund, seven for Inter).

This will be the seventh European meeting between the two clubs. Inter have won three of their previous encounters with Dortmund, who registered two victories. 

Kovac's side could still be knocked out of the tournament altogether if results do not go their way, but the Dortmund boss was not thinking about those scenarios. 

"I'm not concerned about that – we can only influence our own game," Kovac added. "The important thing is that we play the 90 minutes tomorrow the way we have to play.

"We must play with intensity, aggression, dynamism and energy. We want to win the game. We'll see what the final result is."

Kovac also did not understate the size of the task at hand, with Inter going well in Serie A and come into this clash following a 6-2 thrashing of Pisa. 

However, they have lost their last three Champions League matches, having lost just three of their previous 27 matches (W18 D6 L3).

They have never lost four in a row in the competition, and Kovac is expecting a tough test against Cristian Chivu's side. 

"They've been together in this constellation for a few years now – everyone knows what the other is doing. They've always been very dominant on the pitch in the past," he said. 

"They have retained their dominance – and have also implemented the transition game very well. We are currently seeing a very dynamic and modern Inter."

The last meeting between Dortmund and Inter was a 3-2 victory for the German side in November 2019 – a game that Inter led 2-0 in at half-time.

This remains the only time that BVB have trailed by 2+ goals at half-time of a European Cup/UEFA Champions League game and gone on to win, as well as the only time Inter have led by 2+ goals at the break and lost in those competitions.