The Champions League is top of Borussia Dortmund's agenda in the coming days and weeks for two different reasons.
Dortmund travel to Atletico Madrid for a first leg quarter-final in the elite event on Wednesday and at the same time need points in the Bundesliga to qualify for it again next season.
Winning the Champions League offers direct entry into the next campaign but that could be an even tougher ask for the 1997 winners and 2013 finalists than qualifying via the Bundesliga for which a top four finish is needed.
Dortmund slipped to fifth with a 1-0 home defeat on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart who for their part enhanced their chances and moved seven points ahead in third place, tied with Bayern Munich.
Dortmund trail RB Leipzig on goal difference and have six Bundesliga matches left to rectify the situation in an up and down season.
The painful defeat against Stuttgart came after five straight victories, including a 2-0 statement success at Bayern last weekend.
"We had a lot of desire to win the match after the victory in Munich and the past weeks. Unfortunately we lacked the goal. We will now want to score it on Wednesday," sporting director Sebastian Kehl said.
Coach Edin Terzic said: "We don't have time to be disappointed because the next important task is awaiting us on Wednesday."
Diego Simeone's Atletico will be a tough test on April 10 and 16, followed by back-to-back Bundesliga matches against designated champions Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig.
"We're now fifth in the table, but everything is still possible. We want to get into the Champions League," Terzic insisted.
It wasn't all doom and gloom in Dortmund as the team performed better than in their previous two season losses in the league and cup against Stuttgart, with wastefulness the main reason for the defeat.
"A great game awaits us in Madrid on Wednesday. If we approach it like this, I'm positive that we'll win it," said defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who wasted Dortmund's biggest chance on Saturday.
Terzic added: "If we are able to repeat our performance from today then we will reach our goals."
