Borussia Dortmund visit North London on Tuesday for their high-octane UEFA Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Unbeaten in their last seven outings, Der BVB arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium high on confidence as they hope to bolster their progression hopes in the competition with a win.
Although they have a terrible record in the fixture, having lost their last four games in a row to Spurs, the current status of their hosts should offer Dortmund a glimmer of hope.
Thomas Frank's band of busted flushes have lost their last three games in all competitions, most recently a 2-1 home loss to West Ham in the Premier League. It was preceded by a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the FA Cup as the Lilywhites crashed out in the third round.
That's two consecutive home defeats now. A third one would certainly spell the end for Frank as Tottenham have won just once from their last eight and languish in 14th place of the league and 11th in Europe.
Moreover, the club is currently going through an injury crisis with as many as eight first-team players set to miss out, including Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur. New signing Connor Gallagher isn't registered yet.
Meanwhile, Pape Sarr returns from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations victorious as Senegal clinched the trophy, but Frank could be cautious against throwing him right into action here as the star would be given a rest.
As for Dortmund, Kovac is more fortunate than his counterpart here as most of his regulars are available for the trip. However, Aaron Anselmino remains out with a hamstring, while Marcel Sabitzer and Ramy Bensebaini are currently injured too.
Upfront, the Croatian has a tough decision to make. The out-of-form Serhou Guirassy has been the first choice but Fabio Silva has forced his way into the XI lately with the Guinean struggling to hit the heights of last season.
Silva was the leading man for Dortmund at the weekend in their win over St. Pauli too, bagging an assist. But in the Champions League, Guirassy is their joint top-scorer with three goals.
The striker is also a big-game player in European matches, which could tempt Kovac to go with him again although Silva's recent form means the former Wolverhampton Wanderer star deserves to keep his place in the XI upfront.
Probable Dortmund XI: Kobel; Can, Anton, Schlotterbeck; Ryerson, Bellingham, Nmecha, Svensson; Adeyemi, Brandt; Silva
Probable Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Danso, Spence; Gray, Bergvall; Odobert, Simons, Tel; Kolo Muani