Tuchel targets ´top performance´ to beat Paderborn

Thomas Tuchel believes Borussia Dortmund will need to be on the top of their game to beat Paderborn in the DFB-Pokal.

Dortmund welcome the second-tier side – who have won their first two games under new coach Stefan Effenberg – to Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.

Tuchel is not expecting an easy passage to round three against a team he feels has been galvanised by the arrival of the former Bayern Munich midfielder.

“A lot can happen during 90 minutes. It’s our job to steer the game as it’s expected,” he said on Tuesday.

“It’s up to us how deep Paderborn will have to defend. We need a top performance to progress to the next round.

“Since Effenberg is coach at Paderborn the team runs significantly more – they have more sprints and more shots.”

The Dortmund coach confirmed that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be available despite sitting out the 5-1 win over Augsburg at the weekend, while Nuri Sahin and Erik Durm are nearing returns.

“Mkhitaryan is available against Paderborn,” Tuchel added.

“It was just a precaution to keep him out against Augsburg.

“Nuri Sahin is working well, but I don’t want to jinx him. We still need a couple of weeks until Erik and Sahin return to group training.

“The best possible team will be on the pitch. I’ll decide it very late.”

Effenberg stated that Paderborn will not sit back against last season’s Pokal runners-up.

“We are going there to win. We are prepared,” he said on Tuesday.

“A lot of things must come together. We have weapons that we know how to use. We certainly won’t just defend.”