Roundtable: Can Borussia Dortmund advance to the Europa League quarterfinals?

Tushar Bahl

With not much being offered by Peter Stoger in the way of tactics, Borussia Dortmund have relied on their players to produce brilliance or for some luck or coincidence to go their way to get their results. And they will need a lot of both against Salzburg on Thursday.

Dortmund simply cannot perform consistently at the same level for the entire 90 minutes, as was visible once again, against Frankfurt. So, those on the pitch will need to step up against Salzburg and make themselves heroes for their club. Defenders will have to put their bodies on the line, midfielders will have to dominate Salzburg off the park and forwards will have to work hard and create something out of nothing.

The players who don the black and yellow jersey tomorrow will need to think that they are playing for their futures. They will need to have that desire to go out there and fight for 90 minutes.

If Borussia Dortmund can do that, there will be no stopping them. Salzburg are likely to defend deep as they aim to protect their lead. Marco Reus and co will have to make sure they are at their very best to break them down and get the job done.

My prediction is Dortmund will win the leg 2-1 and then go through in extra time.