DORTMUND (dpa-AFX) - Borussia Dortmund is hoping for an end to its away weakness. After five defeats in the past six Bundesliga games in foreign stadiums, coach Edin Terzic is longing for a turnaround for Wednesday's (6:30 p.m.) match at FSV Mainz 05. "This is something we urgently need to improve. That we also collect points away from home if we want to improve in the standings," the soccer coach said on Tuesday.

After the hard-fought 4:3 last matchday against Augsburg, the second place in the table is only two points away. But without greater stability on the defensive side, new trouble looms in the challenging away games against Mainz and four days later against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After all, Terzic's team conceded seven goals in the past two games in Mönchengladbach (2:4) and against Augsburg alone.

The coach left open the question of whether Marco Reus will be absent again after recovering from his illness, as he was against Augsburg: "We'll have to wait and see. He couldn't train with the team for almost ten days." Only after the last training session before the departure towards Mainz, a decision is to be made about a comeback of the 33-year-old international. In contrast, Emre Can is fit for action again. The place of the yellow suspended Jude Bellingham in the BVB midfield is likely to take Mahmoud Dahoud.

Sébastien Haller could be in Dortmund's starting eleven for the first time. The 28-year-old goalscorer made a competitive debut for BVB on Sunday against Augsburg, around half an hour after his testicular cancer diagnosis. "It's getting better day by day. He's feeling more and more comfortable. He has found his rhythm again. We'll see whether it's enough for the starting eleven then. But we are sure that Sébastien will play an important role in Mainz," said Terzic./bue/DP/jha