“It’s time for three points in our stadium. And to achieve that, we’ll have to use all our skills,” said Jürgen Klopp in the build-up to the home game against Hertha BSC on Saturday (kick-off: 1530 CET). It’s not going to be easy as the Bundesliga new boys are strong away from home.

The last couple of weeks may not have been that successful, but Borussia Dortmund are still having their second-best first half of the season in 10 years. They are looking to head into the winter break with a win to make up for what they missed out on last weekend in Hoffenheim. “I was really thrilled by their willingness to give their all,” said the BVB coach about his players, adding: “It was outstanding to see them running 122 kilometres after such an intense game against Marseille.”

It will take a similar commitment to beat Hertha on Saturday. “We must stop them from playing their transitional game and cover up our attacks accordingly – not the way we did before the two goals conceded in Hoffenheim. That’s going to be our biggest challenge when we have the ball,” said Klopp, while adding that BVB “still need to be determined and work the ball into threatening areas.”

BVB will also need to take their chances better than they did at Hoffenheim, Marseille or the home game against Bayern. “We created an unbelievable number of chances in the last two games,” said Klopp. But as the Dortmund coach well knows, there are games where the ball just won’t go in as often as it could.

Be that as it may, BVB have a tough task on their hands on Saturday. “They have a plan and they have carried over the momentum from the second division,” said Klopp on the Berlin outfit, citing “tactical discipline” and “a lightning-quick transition play” as two of their strengths. “They are awkward to play against, and our job will be to be even more awkward to play against,” said Klopp.