Borussia Dortmund need to secure their place in the Champions League knockout stages against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday to allow them to focus on the Bundesliga, the club's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has said.
Three draws and one defeat from Dortmund's last four Bundesliga games have seen Thomas Tuchel's side slip to sixth in the German top flight, three points behind fourth-placed Cologne.
While they have reached the DFB Pokal's round of 16 and are ahead of Real Madrid in Champions League Group F on goal difference, sporting director Michael Zorc said this week that their "clear focus" should be the Bundesliga.
Watzke has now told Bild: "It would be nice to beat Sporting and prematurely secure our place in the next round of Champions League.
"We could solely and completely focus on the Bundesliga in the upcoming weeks, but it's going to be a difficult task like in the reverse fixture."
A fortnight ago, Dortmund managed to hang on to a 2-1 win at Sporting, with the hosts pushing for a late equaliser.
On Wednesday, Tuchel could add some much-needed experience to Borussia's starting formation as midfielder Gonzalo Castro, 29, is set to return from the minor injury that ruled him out for Saturday's goalless draw against local rivals Schalke.
Andre Schurrle and Raphael Guerreiro could also start after featuring from the bench on Saturday, while Ousmane Dembele and United States winger Christian Pulisic could be given a break.