Borussia Dortmund have had their ups and downs this season, but things might be looking up for the Black & Yellows as they prepare to do battle with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon once more on 19 February. bundesliga.com offers five reasons that last season's finalists can win through to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 via their play-off tie.

Follow Dortmund vs. Sporting LIVE here!

1) Changing times

After a tough period either side of the winter break, with just one win in 10 matches across all competitions, Dortmund began to turn a corner under interim coach Mike Tullberg. Stepping in to fill the departed Nuri Şahin's shoes, the club's U19 boss injected passion and self-belief into the BVB squad to immediate effect. A 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen was followed by a 3-1 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk and a 2-1 Bundesliga win away to Heidenheim. With new head coach Niko Kovač now in the hot-seat, the experienced tactician said he saw enough in the 2-1 reverse against Stuttgart to fill him with confidence. It appears Kovač has already managed to imprint some of his ideas on the BVB players as they stormed to a 3-0 away in Lisbon, but the new BVB boss will have to address the defensive frailties that saw them fall 2-0 away to Bochum on Matchday 22 ahead of Wednesday's crunch clash.

Watch: Dortmund rise to the challenge in Heidenheim 

2) The man for the job

A decorated coach with not only a Bundesliga title (Bayern Munich, 2018/19) but consecutive DFB Cups (with Eintracht Frankfurt, 2017/18, and Bayern, 2018/19) to his name, Kovač brings knockout football prowess - not to mention almost three decades of top-tier club and international experience as a player and manager - with him to Signal Iduna Park. A devotee of the mid-high press and fast transitions, Kovač favours a free-flowing and high-scoring style - not to mention a 4-2-3-1 formation - that is perfectly suited to Dortmund's footballing philosophy and the club's undoubtedly talented but as yet under-performing squad.

Watch: Kovač takes charge of Dortmund

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3) Goal power

The Black & Yellows are a side built to score a lot of goals. Even during their difficult period around the winter break, they were still rattling them in - in fact, they have only failed to score on three occasions in their 33 matches across all competitions so far this season. One of the driving forces behind this record has been striker Serhou Guirassy. The Guinea centre-forward has transitioned excellently after signing from VfB Stuttgart in the summer and is not only the club's top scorer in the Bundesliga (nine goals) but also the current top scorer in the Champions League league, with a stunning 10 goals in nine matches - plus three assists! Dortmund legend Robert Lewandowski - currently at Barcelona - is close behind Guirassy in this season's tournament with nine goals. 

Watch: Guirassy & Gittens - Dortmund’s double G-Force

However, Guirassy is not the only man Sporting's coaching team will need to find a response to. England U21 winger Jamie Gittens has been in red-hot form, keeping pace with Guirassy in terms of goal involvements in the Bundesliga (seven goals and three assists - Guirassy also has one assist), and is only growing in confidence as the season progresses. On top of that, Karim Adeyemi is able to bring his pace and vision to bear on the right flank, supporting five-assist playmaker Julian Brandt in creating chances.

Gittens has impressed for Dortmund this season. - IMAGO/osnapix / Hirnschal

4) (Pretty much) Full house!

With the exception of Felix Nmecha - a doubt with a knee complaint - and possibly Ramy Bensebaini, Kovač should have a full-strength squad to choose from as he sets about game-planning the second leg against Sporting. With Niklas Süle fit again, BVB have plenty options in defence, and should that not prove enough, captain Emre Can has shown he can drop back to great effect.

Should this be necessary, Salih Özcan has been recalled from his loan at Wolfsburg to support Marcel Sabitzer and Pascal Groß in a defensive midfield role while up front, Maximilian Beier - who rattled in 16 goals for Hoffenheim last season - can fill Guirassy's boots. The likes of Gio Reyna and Julien Duranville provide extra options going forward. Dortmund are a side built for the Champions League, and Sporting will have to reckon with a razor-sharp starting XI and game-changing quality off the bench.

Watch: All of Adeyemi's Bundesliga goals and assists

5) Knockout pedigree

Champions League winners back in 1997, Dortmund showed last season with their run to the final that they remain adept at knockout football. After beating PSV Eindhoven 3-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, they showed all their class and grit to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat away to Atlético Madrid with a rousing 4-2 win at the Signal Iduna Park.

They followed that with 1-0 wins home and away against Paris Saint-Germain in the semis, with the first leg played in front of a capacity crowd of 81,365 - as was every other one of their six home matches in the competition. And, as Dortmund's win over Shakhtar under Tullberg secured them seeding for the play-off, the upcoming return leg will be played in front of the Yellow Wall - yet another factor for Sporting to contend with.

Dortmund produced a superb perofrmance to beat Atlético Madrid 4-2 to overcome a first-leg deficit and progress to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2023/24. - IMAGO/Dennis Ewert/RHR-FOTO

And as if that weren't enough, Dortmund have an excellent head-to-head record against Sporting. They have four wins in their five meetings, as well as form against Portuguese sides overall, boasting 10 wins in 15 matches against sides from the Primeira Liga. 

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