The kick-off to an all-important month

Despite the short break and the days off over Christmas, the coaching team actually had the chance to work more intensively with the BVB professionals than was the case for much of December, when the packed fixture list meant that training sessions were largely focused on regeneration and match replacement. ''We tried to find a mix of tactical aspects and physical elements,'' said BVB coach Edin Terzic as he discussed the days around new year in which he worked with the players on the training pitches in Brackel.

Among those who played no part in training were the lightly injured Youssoufa Moukoko, who won't be fit in time for the Wolfsburg match, and Thorgan Hazard. The Belgian attacking player suffered a muscle injury in the cup game in Braunschweig and faces a long spell on the sidelines. ''Marcel Schmelzer is our one long-term absentee, and he is going to be out for a while yet,'' said Terzic. Jude Bellingham is carrying a light knock, but he could be an option on Sunday. Erling Haaland, for his part, is back in training after his muscle tear. ''We've tried to gradually reintroduce Erling, he seems very hungry,'' said Terzic, adding: ''We're fairly sure he'll be able to perform again tomorrow. He is so important to us with his style of play and his presence.''

Regain strength at home

Borussia Dortmund entered 2021 placed fifth in the table, two points behind the Champions League spots. ''We're lagging behind in the league, and we've made that clear to the team. Fifth place is not what we're aiming for. We want to improve as quickly as possible,'' said Zorc as he reflected on the team's performance, going on to add: ''We have lost a lot of home games in recent weeks. We really feel it when the yellow wall isn't there. But that can't be an excuse. I expect the team to make substantial improvements.''

Regaining a strong home record is one of the demands that Edin Terzic has made to his team. As for the others: ''We have to greatly reduce the number of games we've been losing. We've also been conceding far too many goals. We have to pose more of a threat going forward and make better use of our possession in order to score more goals.''

The Black & Yellows will have their first chance to put the coach's words into action on Sunday, when they host a VfL Wolfsburg side who picked up three wins, one draw and one loss - 2-1 away to Bayern, their first of the season - across the month of December. The meeting between the fifth and fourth-placed sides represents the highlight fixture of Matchday 14 in terms of table positions. A win would be enough to see BVB leapfrog the Wolves. 

''Wolfsburg have been very good for a while now. They have a very strong squad. They have two options in just about every position,'' said Terzic. The team are very stable and don't concede many goals. In attack, they have ''lots of pace out wide and a very dangerous striker in Wout Weghorst.''

An important January

The match against VfL Wolfsburg, who BVB have not lost to in their last ten Bundesliga meetings, is the first of many top-of-the-table clashes in January. Zorc has dubbed it a ''very important'' month: ''The games against teams in the Champions League spots, where we absolutely want to be, will be all-important. That's the demand that's been made of the team. But it's also something we can all look forward to.''

Borussia have six fixtures scheduled for the first month of the year and will go head-to-head with the teams that currently occupy second place (Leverkusen), third place (Leipzig) and fourth place (Wolfsburg), not to mention Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are also direct competitors for Champions League qualification. ''Just about all of our opponents are in the same part of the table as us, or in the positions we would like to be in. It's going to be intense,'' said Terzic, adding: ''It's all about finding a sense of automaticity and confidence in our game. If we have that, it doesn't matter who we're going up against.''

Christina Reinke 

BVB-TV by 1&1: Press conference before VfL Wolfsburg