Dortmund will treat every game as a final in bid for top four, says Gross

Pascal Gross insisted Borussia Dortmund will approach every match like a final as they push for a top-four finish in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund are eighth in the table with 42 points from 29 games, their worst position since 2014-15 when they finished seventh.

With five games remaining, they trail fourth-placed RB Leipzig by six points and face an uphill battle to claim a Champions League spot.

Dortmund are given an 11.1% chance of claiming a top-four finish according to the Opta supercomputer.

The Black and Yellow’s confidence has grown, with Gross seeing their 3-1 win over Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final as a boost, despite them being knocked out of the competition with a 5-3 aggregate loss.

“In this stadium, with the fans, you can beat any team in the world. [Missing out] on that would hurt a lot,” Gross told reporters ahead of Sunday’s clash with Borussia Monchengladbach.

“That’s why we need to do everything in our power in the final five games to get as many points as we possibly can. This season is crazy. We’ve almost lost too many games already to be able to reach that goal.

“But when you look at the table, you can see that anything is possible. The next five games are all finals for us.”

Dortmund have won 17 of their last 18 Bundesliga home games against Gladbach, including each of their last 10.

They would leapfrog Gladbach in the table if they win on Sunday, but they need to improve their defensive record. They have conceded 45 goals this term – since 2000, they have only let in more goals after 29 league games in 2007-08 (53).

Dortmund have also kept just two clean sheets across their last 18 league games, but Gross feels the team are more cohesive now.

“I feel like we’re more solid now,” he added. “If one person makes a mistake, someone else smoothes it out for him.

“That helps you to trust in what you’re doing.”

Dortmund manager Nico Kovac called for more passion and aggression in the next five games and said captain Emre Can and midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, who missed the Barcelona game with injury, are in contention to feature against Gladbach.