Borussia Dortmund have been urged to rediscover their killer instinct, and silence lingering doubts about a lack of ruthlessness, in order to stay in the Bundesliga title race this weekend.
Back-to-back draws against mid-table teams Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen -- having been ahead on both occasions -- left Dortmund eighth in the table.
They are just three points behind leaders Bayern Munich in a tightly-packed top half, with five teams just a point behind the defending champions.
Bayern host mid-table Hoffenheim on Saturday hunting a fifth straight win, boosted by Tuesday's stunning 7-2 away romp at Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. Dortmund need a win at third-placed Freiburg on Saturday to stay in touch.
Having won 2-0 at Slavia Prague on Wednesday in the Champions League, a second victory in four days would put Dortmund's Bundesliga campaign back on track.
Goalkeeper Roman Burki has said the team must 'man up' and get ruthless in Freiburg, a notoriously hard place to pick up three points.
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"We aren't playing like men. The killer instinct up front is missing," he raved after the draw with Bremen on Sunday.
With Mats Hummels restored to the team after a back injury, Dortmund's defence should be tighter at Freiburg.
Reus reacted angrily when a Sky reporter recently asked if the team had a mentality problem and midfielder Axel Witsel batted off a similar question after the Bremen draw.
"Oh man, don't ask me that -- mentality isn't the problem," insisted the Belgium star, but doubts still linger.
Chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke agreed with Burki that Dortmund must get ruthless, even at the expense of their attack-minded football, to grind out wins.
"I believe that we must stop being in love with our own football - instead, we should be in love with winning," Watzke told Munich-based daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"That's what it's all about."
"We need a bit more of that, so we don't just define ourselves through beautiful football, but also through tough defensive individual work."
One to watch: Robert Lewandowski
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