Schmidt: 'We have to put on a completely different display'

Playing BVB at their ground is definitely one of the most ambitious tasks the season. Borussia Dortmund have not lost any of the last 31 Bundesliga fixtures at the Signal Iduna Park with an outstanding record of 25 wins and six draws. The Werkself are well aware of what to expect on Saturday afternoon at 15.30 CET in front of 80,000 fans as the high-speed dribblers Aubameyang, Reus and Dembélé face them. "We need to be fully focused from the start and produce a completely different performance than we did against Mainz. Dortmund are in very good shape," said Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler.

Of course, Roger Schmidt knows only too well the size of the challenge facing his players in comparison to BVB who won their last two Bundesliga games against Wolfsburg and Freiburg by a 3-0 margin with 24 and 27 shots on goal respectively. "It will be a very tough task, Dortmund are very solid in defence and have incredibly quick and dangerous players up front. We need to show great determination, lots of tactical discipline and put in the running," said the head coach at the pre-match press conference at the BayArena Media Centre.

Unacceptable performance against Mainz

Schmidt also commented in detail on last Saturday's unsatisfactory performance. "We have to put on a completely different display at Dortmund compared with the one against Mainz where our performance was unacceptable. In this situation we need more reliable players willing to give 100 per cent to the team. That's the task facing us and everybody has to perform. We'll have to play the 90 minutes as if we have to use our last reserves of energy," declared the coach.

Bayer 04 did show how to get round BVB when the two sides met earlier in the season. Leverkusen did not give Dortmund an inch, neutralised Borussia with determined challenges to go on to win 2-0 at the BayArena with goals from Admir Mehmedi and Chicharito – it was probably the most impressive Bundesliga performance by the Werkself this season. And another retrospective can also provide encouragement for the Black and Reds: Bayer 04 have won two of the last three meetings at Dortmund (1-0 and 2-0).

Wendell returns

Bayer 04 will again be able to call on left back Wendell in Dortmund after he returns from suspension. That means Roger Schmidt is just missing the injured Jonathan Tah and Hakan Calhanoglu who is suspended for the rest of the season.