Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac has given his assessment of his former side Eintracht Frankfurt and their chances of playing in Europe next season.
The BVB are all set to host the Eagles at the Signal Iduna Park tonight for their final home game of the season in the Bundesliga, hoping to mark the occasion with a win.
With Champions League secured, they could achieve their next target here which is sealing the runners-up spot as Dortmund need just a draw for that.
Eintracht Frankfurt are hoping to make it to Europe next season too but things appear bleak. The side is languishing in eighth place of the Bundesliga table with 43 points from 32 games; they are one point behind Freiburg who occupy the last European spot that is UEFA Conference League play-off round.
Kovac believes all's not lost yet for his former side, as Frankfurt still have two more games to swoop inside the top seven places.
“They still have a chance of achieving their minimum target, which doesn’t make things any easier for us," said Kovac.
Frankfurt appear to have lost steam in the last few weeks, winning just once in six games to drop out of contention for European football. But they'd be encouraged by Dortmund's struggles in recent times and will be aiming to capitalize on their vulnerabilities.
Dortmund aiming to mark last home game with a win
Borussia Dortmund play at the Signal Iduna Park for the last time this season as they look to give their fans one more treat before pulling the curtains down on a stellar run.
Kovac says his team is focused on just that ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt's latest win.
“We definitely need to show a different side to ourselves after the game in Gladbach and play the way we did at home against Freiburg. It’s the last home game of the season. We want to give our fans something to cheer about, and it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side. We definitely want to show ourselves in a better light," said the Croatian.
Dortmund's last home game resulted in a dominant 4-0 win over Freiburg two weeks ago, their joint-biggest of the season at the Westfalonstadion, having crushed Mainz by the same scoreline earlier this year.
In 16 home league matches this season, the Black and Yellows lost just twice: 3-2 vs Bayern Munich and 1-0 vs Bayer Leverkusen, while winning 12 times. RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart are the only other teams who have managed to take points in Dortmund this term.
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