October this year has been anything but "golden" for Borussia Dortmund. November begins with two home games and offers the opportunity to steady the ship.

"We have just had four away games and are happy to play at home again", said Marcel Schmelzer prior to their games against APOEL Nicosia and Bayern Munich, well aware of the home advantage: "The viewing public knows when we are in need of support."

With the twelfth man behind them, they should pick up their first win in the UEFA Champions League, and in doing so, begin to change the hitherto charted course. This coming Saturday they have the opportunity in their home match against FC Bayern Munich to return to the top of the table and to go into the next international break in the number one spot.

"Until it is completely over, you have got to believe you have a chance"

Peter Bosz has not yet completely written off their chances of making it into the round of 16 in the Champions League. "Until it is completely over, you have got to believe you have a chance, even if it is only small. That is what I will do, and what the team will do", stressed the manager, and the captain agreed: "We still know in the back of our minds there is a small chance, and want to win against Nicosia in any case." Bosz has further targets to aim for: "This game is very important. We can work on our playing system and our self-belief. This is a very important game in my opinion."

After the defeat in Hanover, the manager and the team used the long weekend to process what had gone on. "We would have done so anyway if we had won", clarified Schmelzer: "There are always a couple of things to talk about, and after Hanover, there were of course a few more than normal. We have analysed what went wrong."

Much has been said recently about "Plan B". Bosz asserted: „Of course we have a Plan B, you would have seen that, if you were watching closely enough. But when we implement Plan A properly, then there is no need to ask that question."

"When we implement Plan A properly, then there is no need to ask that question"

"We expect a reaction from the team" said Sporting Director Michael Zorc recently, "but the team expect that from themselves too. We must give a completely different account of ourselves." Peter Bosz is keeping his cards close to his chest as to whether there will be changes for the sixth of seven games within a 22 day period. "The biggest change will be that we give absolutely everything to win the match", he opined. Mo Dahoud and Ömer Toprak are available once more, but the largest personnel problem since the beginning of October remains: the absence of Lukasz Piszczek at right back in the defensive line. 

Bosz was his normal relaxed self when commenting on the fact that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not scored in three matches since his brace against Leipzig, his 14th and 15th goals of the season, meaning he has come in for criticism: "It is the same for all strikers. Every striker goes through a phase of about two or three matches in a season when he does not score. Auba will come through it."

Maybe the one is connected with the other more than is commonly believed. Maybe when Auba starts scoring again, the victories will follow, the self-confidence will return, and the good times will be back. And with that, a fresh outlook on both competitions.
Boris Rupert