The Daily Bee (October 1st, 2018): Can BVB compete for the Bundesliga title?

• Upcoming Champions League match

On Wednesday Borussia Dortmund will play their first home game of this season’s Champions League campaign against AS Monaco. It will be a crucial match for BVB, starting with 6 points and a substantial lead ahead of Monaco would be extremely important if the black and yellows want to advance.

BVB’s starting eleven could look a little different if kicker is to be believed. The outlet predicted that Favre will rotate the squad a bit, Schmelzer will be back at left back and the starting centerback duo of Akanji/Diallo will start. On the right side Hakimi could start once again if Piszczeck isn’t 100% healthy. In midfield we could see a Weigl/Dahoud pivot, giving Delaney and especially Witsel a needed break. On offense Pulisic and Reus will stay in the squad but Sancho could start instead of Bruun Larsen. The striker position is once again a question mark, it’s absolutely clear that Alcacer is the best striker but BVB don’t want to take any risks with the Spaniard who just came back from an injury, We could see Philipp once again at striker and Alcacer as a super-sub if needed.

• Sancho: “I don’t want to be a sub” (Bundesliga.com)

Jadon Sancho has been absolutely phenomenal so far this season. In just 125 minutes of game time in 6 matches he has recorded 1 goal and 5 assists. However he has done most of his work from the bench and he was somewhat disappointing in his only start this season (vs Brugge in the Champions League). Nevertheless the talent is obvious and it won’t be long before Sancho will regularly start for Dortmund.

In an interview with Bundesliga.com Sancho has talked about his current role with the team “Obviously, I don’t want to be a sub – but if I keep on working hard hopefully I can get in the starting XI”. In addition he commented on his relationship with Marco Reus: “We just have that special connection,” he explained. “He reads me, I read him, and he teaches me a lot of things. He teaches me to be mature on the ball. At first I wasn’t mature but he told me to be calm and just play my game, and that helped me a lot. Obviously, he’s a great player and I’m so happy I’m playing with him.”

• Götze-topic continues

It would seem that all is well for BVB right now with two amazing victories within a week and the rise to the top of the table but there is of course the Götze-dilemma that just won’t go away. Even after an amazing game like the one against Leverkusen, which certainly offered a lot of topics to talk about, Reus still had to answer questions about Götze immediately after the game. However the captain handled it well:

Daily Buzz: BVB title challenge? The German media certainly hope Dortmund can put up a title challenge to deliver an exciting fight for the Meisterschale but are Dortmund ready or is it just wishful thinking?

In my honest opinion Bayern are still the favorite but they are obviously worse than they were in recent years, a slew of injuries certainly hasn’t helped them. Nevertheless they should still be the clear favorites to win it all. What do you think, do we have a chance?