Klopp tired of defending Dortmund

Dortmund are in a relegation battle, and that will be all too apparent on Saturday when they travel to Freiburg.

A 1-0 defeat at home to Augsburg has left Dortmund, who are used to challenging at the top of the league, rooted to the foot of the Bundesliga after 19 games of the season.

Captain Mats Hummels admitted that if a side is in such a position after so many games, it cannot be a coincidence, leaving them 15 games this season to keep their place in the top flight.

This weekend, they face a side just two points ahead but seasoned in survival scraps, on the smallest pitch in German football.

"I'm sick of talking about the positive signs I see, what I'm looking for now is something positive to come from our games," said Dortmund head coach Klopp at a press conference on Thursday.

"I remain totally convinced that we'll stay up. I can't let one bad game knock us off course. I can totally rule out resigning."

Resignation reigned in Berlin this week, meanwhile, with the only other club from Germany's top flight to have lost as many games as Dortmund this season - 11 - sacking coach Jos Luhukay.

Hungary's national team coach Pal Dardai has taken over in the capital and his first challenge comes in Mainz on Saturday.

The table remains tightly packed at the bottom and both Hertha and Dortmund could find themselves out of the relegation zone with wins if Stuttgart fail to extend Bayern Munich's difficult start to 2015 and Paderborn lose in Cologne.

Elsewhere this weekend, Wolfsburg will look to keep up the pressure on Bayern at the top when they host Hoffenheim, who have lost two out of two since the turn of the year.

On Saturday evening, Hamburg and Hannover contest a northern Germany derby before Sunday sees Bayer Leverkusen's trip to Werder Bremen and high-flying Augsburg's clash at home with Eintracht Frankfurt.