Leverkusen vs Dortmund - Champions League hopefuls prepare to go head to head

Two sides looking for Europa League glory this year, but pining for Champions League action next season, meet this Sunday at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen go into the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie with Sporting Lisbon next Thursday holding a handy 1-0 lead from the away leg in Lisbon, while Borussia Dortmund will fancy their chances of finishing the job against another Portuguese side Porto after a 2-0 win at home.

The Bundesliga is sandwiched in between those two fixtures, however, and it is no small matter either as second travels to third.

Thirteen points separate the two sides, with Dortmund all-but assured of their place in the Champions League next season with a win in the home of their nearest challengers, but Leverkusen will be keen to reduce that gap to 10 and more importantly ensure they end the weekend still in third.

For that, another top performance is required.

"If we want to keep anything valuable in Leverkusen, then we're going to have to play the same way we did on Thursday night," said Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt.

"Dortmund are a really strong side, but you can still get chances against them."

Schmidt is still without a long list of key players, including Javier Hernandez and Lars Bender, yet apart from a DFB-Pokal defeat to Werder Bremen, his side have not lost since early December.

That run includes games against Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Monchengladbach and Sporting Lisbon, but Schmidt acknowledges Sunday's opponents are going to pose a considerable challenge, even if they too may have one eye on next Thursday's Europa League returns.

"They've got a solid team which, aside from six months last season, have been in a good position for a very long time now," Schmidt added.

"Their new coach has given them renewed momentum too."

Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel also gave Nuri Sahin a surprise return to the team on Thursday, with the player having to thank his wife more than anybody for packing his boots and kit when he left home for the Westfalenstadion, not expecting even to be part of the squad after a long injury lay-off.

"It was a good job my wife had the idea of packing my kit and sticking it in the car," Sahin revealed.

"I was only ready because my wife had this sudden vision that I could be playing."

It was the Turkish midfielder's first appearance since February 28, 2015, and his next could come on Sunday.

"He was the one setting the tone for us and that is precisely what we need," said team-mate Marcel Schmelzer, while Julian Weigl, whose place in the team is now under threat from the 27-year-old, added that he "gave us an air of calm and experience in the middle."