Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac begins his first match in charge by leading his team to host Stuttgart at Signal Iduna Park for a Bundesliga encounter.
The 11th-placed Kovac team holds 29 points while beating Heidenheim 2-1 on February 1 but their opponents suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach during the same matchweek to maintain their fifth position with 32 points.
BVB rightfully secured their victory against Heidenheim because they blocked their opponents from creating any major scoring opportunities while scoring four clear chances and firing 16 shots which accumulated to more than two expected goals.
The club appointed Kovac to succeed Nuri Sahin permanently while the experienced Bundesliga coach previously managed teams at Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt.
A win against Bochum on Saturday would put Dortmund within reach of Champions League qualification positions if other teams in the competition provide favorable results.
The hosts managed to find the net eight times during their last four matches while allowing six goals while remaining without a clean sheet in their last 12 games.
BVB maintained their undefeated streak through recent matches by securing two victories yet they suffered four consecutive losses before that period and Stuttgart defeated them 5-1 during Bundesliga action on September 22.
Dortmund managed to win 11 consecutive matches at Signal Iduna Park before their most recent one match victory at home.
The loss to Borussia Monchengladbach against Stuttgart was justified because the winners generated four major scoring opportunities while their opponents only created one.
With a 1-0 victory against Augsburg in Tuesday's DFB-Pokal quarterfinal, Die Roten recovered from their Bundesliga defeat and advanced past the round from which they were ousted the previous season.
Given that it was the team's first clean sheet in five games—during which they gave up nine goals—manager Sebastian Hoeness must have been thrilled with his team's performance against Augsburg.
Stuttgart has won eight of their past nine games, but they have lost three of their last four.
Given that they have won four of their last five away games, the visitors' away performance has also been excellent in recent weeks.
Although he will still be unable to rely upon center-backs Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Sule because of suspension and injury, respectively, Kovac will be thankful that he can choose from a team that is mostly available.
Hoeness could use Atakan Karazor and Angelo Stiller in a midfield two while Enzo Millot is sidelined.
El Bilal Toure and Justin Diehl, who are forwards, will not be playing this weekend, but Deniz Undav and Nick Woltemade are expected to start as attackers.
