Borussia Dortmund take on Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday night needing to better the result of Inter Milan in order to progress through to the knockout stages.
However, Slavia make the trip to the Westfalenstadion unable to move off bottom spot in Group E, despite having secured draws away at Barcelona and Inter earlier in the campaign.
Match preview
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After a three-match winless streak during November, Lucien Favre was left fighting for his job at the German club as his side faced being cut adrift in the Bundesliga table.
However, back-to-back victories over Hertha Berlin and Fortuna Dusseldorf have moved Dortmund into third position in the standings, five points behind leaders Borussia Monchengladbach.
Regardless of the result on Tuesday night, Favre will feel relatively safe in the dugout for the time being, although finishing in second place ahead of Inter would keep him in his job until at least the last 16.
Despite criticism about his mentality, Jadon Sancho has played an important part in the recent turnaround, with the England international contributing three goals from his last two outings.
While speculation will continue regarding a potential exit in January, Dortmund are unlikely to consider any offers for the winger while he is keeping the club in contention for a trophy.
As for Slavia, finishing bottom of Group F has come as no great surprise, but Jindrich Trpisovsky's team deserve plenty of credit for how they have performed against quality opposition.
Conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Inter on matchday one came as a huge blow, and it effectively put the Czech outfit on the back foot as they bid to build on last season's appearance in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Nevertheless, Dortmund are the only team to convincingly defeat Slavia in this competition, and Trpisovsky will use that to motivate his players as they look to end their campaign on a high.
Borussia Dortmund Champions League form: DWLWL
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions): WLDLWW
Slavia Prague Champions League form: WDLLDL
Slavia Prague form (all competitions): DWDLWW
Team News
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Barring any late injury issues, Favre could select the same XI which began the 5-0 demolition of Dusseldorf at the weekend.
That would see Julian Brandt feature in the centre of midfield, with Thorgan Hazard, Marco Reus and Sancho making up the front three.
Mario Gotze and Paco Alcacer are likely to remain among the replacements for this contest.
As a result of being out of contention for a place in the Europa League, Trpisovsky may decide to rest a number of his star men.
Lukas Masopust could get the nod in attack after dropping down to the bench for the game with Slovan Liberec.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup: Burki; Piszczek, Akanji, Zagadou; Hakimi, Witsel, Brandt, Guerreiro; Hazard, Reus, Sancho
Slavia Prague possible starting lineup: Kolar; Coufal, Takacs, Kudela, Boril; Soucek, Traore, Stanciu, Sevcik; Olayinka, Masopust
We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Slavia Prague
While Dortmund have not always been at their best on the domestic front this season, we are backing them to deliver an important win here. Slavia have shown in recent months that they are capable of claiming a result on away territory, although we feel that Dortmund have too much firepower in the final third.
Darren Plant
