Tuchel: Dortmund won´t save players for Revierderby

Thomas Tuchel will not rest any Borussia Dortmund players for their Europa League meeting with Qabala, despite the looming Revierderby with Schalke on Sunday.

Dortmund have taken seven points from their opening three fixtures and could qualify for the knockout round if they win on Thursday and Krasnodar defeat PAOK.

Although they face local rivals Schalke in the Bundesliga three days later, the coach insisted he will not rest any players unnecessarily and will select his best available team.

“We are aware of the importance of Sunday, but before that our full concentration is on a top performance tomorrow,” Tuchel said.

“It is not fully decided yet who will play tomorrow. The players who will play will have earned their start. We will not start anyone for tactical reasons ahead of Sunday.

“Whoever wears the Dortmund shirt in the stadium tomorrow must be willing to play with everything they have.”

Qabala sit bottom of Group C with one point, but Tuchel wants to avoid complacency with the experience of playing at Signal Iduna Park a possible lift for the Azeri side.

“Victory at Qabala was not a foregone conclusion. We must be alert again tomorrow,” he added.

“We want to be dominant, but also need patience because we expect a compact, defensive opponent.

“We expect Qabala to be lifted by the stage. It’s a great experience to play here – we want our fans to feel our team’s energy.”