Borussia Dortmund play their final game of 2025 at home to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, aiming to end a turbulent year on a high note.
Winless in their last two games, Niko Kovac's side will be hoping for some respite before heading into the winter break as Dortmund's league campaign is fast unraveling.
They blew away another lead in their last top-flight outing to draw 1-1 with Freiburg in game which also saw Jobe Bellingham get sent off in the second half.
With five draws and a loss from their opening 14 games of the league season, Dortmund remained in third place with 29 points but saw their gap with leaders Bayern Munich widened to nine points.
In the last two months, Der BVB have lost only twice from 10 games in all competitions, but also won just four times, reflecting their stop-start run.
More worryingly, there have been four occasions during this spell wherein the side led in the game, only to relinquish it and settle for a draw.
But all's not lost for them yet. Dortmund's record against Gladbach in recent times has been encouraging, and they might as well set a new milestone on Friday.
Dortmund could set the longest winning home record against a team
Borussia Dortmund have won their last 11 home games against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, a testament to their dominant run against the side at the Signal Iduna Park.
During this run, Die Borussen have posted some really incredible wins such as the 6-1 drubbing in September 2017, and a 6-0 victory in February 2022.
Only against MSV Duisburg have Dortmund posted a longer winning run in the league at 12, between February 1977 and November 1998.
A win on Friday would see them match the same record against another side in Gladbach, who have struggled to find their feet in the Bundesliga this season.
In 14 games, the Foals have won just four times and lost on six occasions as they languish down in 11th position on the Bundesliga table with 16 points in the bag.
In their last Bundesliga game, Gladbach were beaten 3-1 by Wolfsburg at home as their five-game unbeaten run came to an end.
With the side in a vulnerable state now, Dortmund can smell blood in the waters and could go for the kill here. They have scored 18 goals against the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit in their last four home games.