Week of Truth

Borussia Dortmund face the biggest week of their season so far when the reigning German champions take on league leaders Bayern Munich at the AllianzArena on Saturday before flying to London for a crucial Champions League tie with Arsenal, after which they return to host bitter rivals Schalke 04 in another crunch game on the following Saturday.

The next seven days may define BVB's season, even at this early juncture of the campaign. If the champions lose to Bayern, the Bavarian giants will not only extend their lead over Dortmund to eight points but will shake the confidence of a young team which has yet to be tested as part of a chasing pack. In their championship winning season last year, BVB streaked ahead and kept their lead, playing with freedom and expression. It might be a different story if the rest of the season is spent trying to rein in the Bayern juggernaut.

"This is a massive game for Dortmund and Bayern, as well as for the four other teams who are still in contention," Ross Dunbar, the Bundesliga correspondent for the British tabloid Daily Mirror, told Deutsche Welle. "For Dortmund, they really need to close the gap to two points. It would be a massive physiological victory for BVB to still be in contention after the winter break. If Bayern extend the gap to eight points, I just can't see Dortmund clawing back that margin."

Erratic in Europe

Should Jürgen Klopp's team lose to Arsenal on Wednesday – or even draw, their chances of qualifying for the knock-out round of the Champions League will evaporate like London fog. Only a win will be enough. Given their erratic form in Europe this season, and the resurgence of their Premiership rivals in recent weeks, this will be the toughest test the young BVB side have faced outside their own league this season.

Three days later, Signal Iduna Park will be rocked by the rivalry and passion of the local derby when Schalke pay a visit. While BVB were steaming to the Bundesliga title last season, their bitterest rivals were struggling to climb the league after an early relegation battle. This season, Schalke are much improved and while defeat will be as much about wounded regional pride as about the loss of three points, more significant could be the impetus such a result could have on Schalke's challenge to Dortmund's title.

Jürgen Klopp and his boys won't be considering defeat in any of these games, however. Positivity has been a by-word for Dortmund under Klopp's leadership and the champions will enter these three games with every belief in the world that they can win them all.

Current evidence supports such optimism; after making the worst start by a title holder for 27 years, BVB are in possibly the best form they've shown so far this season, racking up six wins from their last seven games and climbing from 11th place to second in the Bundesliga. The goals, which were hard to come by in earlier rounds, have started to flow again and the team play has also improved dramatically. As Klopp himself recently said: "We have returned at the right moment."

Return to form timed to perfection

Dortmund can travel to Bayern in the knowledge that the AllianzArena is not an impregnable fortress, despite the form showed this season by Jupp Heynckes pace-setters. The corresponding match in the last campaign saw Dortmund romp to a 3-1 victory which led the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung to describe Bayern as "driftwood in a sea of yellow and black."

While it is not impossible to envisage a repeat performance, Bayern look a lot more cohesive and threatening than they did at times last season.

Even with Anatoliy Tymoshchuk suspended and Bastian Schweinsteiger injured, Bayern are likely to stick with their 4-2-3-1 formation, with Austrian youngster David Alaba keeping his place in the midfield and Luis Gustavo returning. The Bayern makeshift midfield could find itself under pressure, however, from BVB's middle men - teenage sensation Mario Götze, a rejuvenated Shinji Kagawa and the revelatory central pairing of rookie Moritz Leitner and Sven Bender – who have recovered their form and fluidity in recent weeks.

Dortmund, meanwhile, will travel to Munich with a gaping hole in their defense after Neven Subotic was ruled out for six weeks after suffering a facial fracture at the elbow of Wolfsburg defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos two weeks ago. Third choice central defender Felipe Santana is expected to deputize. That said, the BVB back four - which looked both ponderous and jittery throughout September - have now kept four clean sheets in six games under the command of a much steadier Mats Hummels.

Bayern's own defense will have to be wide awake to the unexpected threat of Robert Lewandowski, the understudy to Lucas Barrios who is now keeping the fit-again Paraguayan Panther on the bench with his current record of eight goals in 12 games.

"The game with Bayern is not only about the points but also about the prestige," Marcus Bark, Bundesliga correspondent for Sportschau.de, told Deutsche Welle. "Dortmund will also want to show that the 3-1 win in Munich last season was no fluke."

Crucial Champions League clash

The expected intensity of the clash with Bayern may have an adverse effect on Dortmund's young side and Ross Dunbar believes that Jürgen Klopp will rotate his players for the Arsenal game and may even prioritize the game in Munich over the one in London.

"It's important for Klopp to utilize his options in both games, especially when you have got the likes of Barrios in reserve," Dunbar said. "I think a lot could hinge on Klopp's midfield selections for these games. Moritz Leitner has been fantastic in recent weeks but perhaps Klopp will opt for conservatism at some point and bring in Sebastian Kehl."

Marcus Bark believes that the most important of the three games will be the match against Arsenal, as Dortmund still have a realistic chance of qualifying and Jürgen Klopp's ambitions for the club include continued involvement in Europe's premier club competition.

"The disappointing performances against Marseille and Piraeus reinforced the belief that BVB are not strong enough to compete internationally," he said. "Klopp and the players will want show that the opposite is true. I think BVB will win in London."

Intense week ends with derby date

Whatever the result against Arsenal, there will have to be plenty left in the Dortmund tank for next Sunday's demolition derby against Schalke - not only with points at stake but fanatical regional pride. Huub Stevens' Royal Blues have built up a head of steam in the weeks since the Dutchman took over as coach and they currently lie in fifth place.

However, Marcus Bark believes that this game, while important, will have little to do with league position on the day. "Every game between Dortmund and Schalke is played the same way with little consideration for their positions in the table," he said. "There is only one target: the derby must be won. This they do for the fans."

While this coming week sees Dortmund embark on an intense program, there will be no rest after the Schalke game. BVB then plays Borussia Mönchengladbach before another potential do-or-die Champions League clash with Marseille.

As the old saying goes: it's tough at the top.

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Michael Lawton