Kovac: Sabah Clash a Chance for Dortmund to Solve Their Scoring Problem

Niko Kovac believes Borussia Dortmund's Champions League clash with Sabah could be the perfect opportunity to reignite an attack that has lost its rhythm of late.

Dortmund travel to the Baku Olympic Stadium on Tuesday to face the Azerbaijani side. Sabah turned heads by beating Slavia Prague 2-0 at home in only their second match in European competition, securing the first European win in the club's history.

The hosts will fancy their chances against a Dortmund side that has struggled for end product in the final third, particularly since the international break. Dortmund have scored just two goals in their last three matches in all competitions, and after a 1-0 defeat to Bodo/Glimt they were held to a goalless draw by Union Berlin, failing to score in two consecutive competitive games for the first time since February 2025.

Kovac's side generated just 1.09 expected goals (xG) from 10 shots against Union Berlin and forced opposing goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow into only two saves. The Black and Yellows have also failed to reach 10 shots in five of their last six Champions League matches (83%). By contrast, they averaged 14.1 shots per game across Kovac's first 12 Champions League matches in charge, falling below 10 shots only twice in that period (17%).

Discussing his team's attacking performance, Kovac said: "We need to be much more precise, much clearer and much more automatic in the final third. Union defended well, but we also didn't play the way I wanted; it was perfectly possible to get in behind the opposition defence and break their lines. We have to make that a habit again quickly, because matches are only won by scoring goals."

The game will be the second Champions League meeting between Azerbaijani and German sides, after Qarabag beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 in January this year. Dortmund's record against teams from the country is perfect: BVB have won all four of their matches against Azerbaijani opposition (beating Qarabag twice in 2010-11 and Gabala twice in 2015-16).

However, the German giants have lost four of their last six Champions League matches (W2). That equals the total number of defeats they suffered in their previous 17 matches in the competition.

With the team winless in their last three competitive outings, sporting director Lars Ricken also stressed that the situation needs to be turned around quickly: "It is obvious that we are going through a difficult period right now. Going three games in a row without a win is not acceptable for Borussia Dortmund. Still, we must remind ourselves what a great position we were in at the start of the season and get back on our feet."