Our next opponents: Reus out – Haaland in?

Position

The euphoria at the start of the year has subsided - and by no small measure. Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 on Tuesday night in the DFB Cup tie away to Werder Bremen, thereby forfeiting one of three chances of winning a title. "Going out hurts but it can't be mended," said sporting director Michael Zorc after the final whistle. After mixed fortunes in the season so far, it appeared Dortmund were getting back on track. Borussia clocked up impressive victories in the first three Bundesliga matches in the second half of the season: 5-3 at Augsburg, 5-1 against FC Köln and 5-0 against Union Berlin. Only three teams have previously scored at least five goals in three consecutive Bundesliga matches. The stats of the Dortmund attack from the last nine matches are almost unbelievable: BVB scored an average of 3.67 goals per game in those fixtures. The flood of goals at the start of the year has helped Borussia back into the title race and now they are just three points behind league leaders Bayern Munich in third place.

Personnel

The Dortmund strength in attack is primarily linked to one name at the moment: Erling Haaland. The 19-year-old Norwegian, signed from RB Salzburg in the winter, needed no time to settle in and he has scored in each of his first four games in Black and Yellow – although he has only once been in the starting line-up. His goals return in the Bundesliga to date is absolutely incredible: In the total of 136 minutes that Haaland has been on the pitch, he has scored seven goals – the new BVB attraction needs less than 20 minutes on average to score a goal. In spite of that, the Dortmund coach Lucien Favre is handling the central striker with care and Haaland only came on at the start of the second half at Werder Bremen – but his presence did play a significant part in the Dortmund comeback that did not quite work out in the end. It is possible that Favre may play his new signing from the start at Leverkusen.

But Dortmund do not just have to rely on Haaland: Jadon Sancho and former Leverkusen player Julian Brandt are also on top form – and then there are another two names in the Borussia squad that are well known: Germany international Emre Can moved from Juventus to Dortmund on the last day of the winter transfer window and he made a first brief appearance in Bremen. It is possible that Can, who played for the Werkself in 2013/14, may have more time on the pitch at the BayArena. And last but not least, Giovanni Reyna has been hitting the headlines: The son of the former Bayer 04 player Claudio Reyna came on as a substitute at Werder Bremen and scored a wonder goal to make it 3-2. At the age of 17 years, two months and 22 days, the American is the youngest goalscorer in the history of the DFB Cup – and a potential big star for BVB.

Problems

BVB found it incredibly hard to get going up front at Bremen, particularly in the first half. Playing against opponents who sat back – as has already happened this season – they were unable to find a way through. "It wasn't any good at all, we lost nearly all of the challenges and we didn't move well," was the assessment of Favre and defender Mats Hummels criticised the "lack of depth in their game." And to make matters worse, Marco Reus faces several weeks on the sidelines. The captain picked up a muscle injury in Bremen and will not just miss the game against Bayer 04 but also a number of other matches.

Potential

The fact Dortmund were able to sign Haaland despite the interest of several top clubs, says a lot about standing that BVB have achieved in recent years. Borussia are undoubtedly a top European club and they meet all the requirements needed to be even more successful in the coming years. The current squad with Haaland (19), Sancho (19), Reyna (17), Dan-Axel Zagadou (20) and Achraf Hakimi (21) can definitely improve in the coming seasons – and, under certain circumstances, really fly high..

Prediction

Haaland gives Dortmund's game another dimension that was often missing in the first half of the season. The Norwegian could be a crucial element in the BVB attack,with Can perhaps doing the same in the defence. If the team are able to make up for the absence of Reus in the next few weeks and can avoid the occasional slips in defence, then Dortmund will be in with a chance of winning the Bundesliga title right to the end of the season. The Black and Yellows face Paris St Germain in the Champions League Round of 16 where they definitely have a chance of going through.