Dortmund confident ahead of Juve date after good Bundesliga start

Borussia Dortmund enter their Champions League opener at Juventus full of confidence after continuing their good start into the Bundesliga.

They are also boosted by the good form of Maximilian Beier who scored along with attacking partner Serhou Guirassy in Saturday's 2-0 at Heidenheim.

"We want to become champions," Beier said confidently after seven points from the first three games.

Coach Niko Kovac did obviously not want to confirm this, remembering the struggle last season to finish fourth, 25 points behind champions Bayern Munich.

"We must get into the Champions League as quickly as possible," Kovac would only say, referring to a top four finish needed.

Dortmund beat Juventus for the 1997 title in the elite event, and were finalists in 2013 and 2024. They now make a new attempt starting with the date at Juve on Tuesday, with a good result there also good for overall confidence.

"We want to compete at the top throughout the season, so the victory today was very important," Beier said in Heidenheim.

"We want to stay in this flow against Juventus, which won't be easy. But if we now keep playing full of confidence, then I think we're in with a chance of three points.”

Dortmund's key on all fronts will be consistency they lacked for large parts last term and which was questioned again when they blew a 3-1 loead in a 3-3 at St Pauli in their Bundesliga opener.

But two wins with clean sheets against Union Berlin and Heidenheim have raised confidence.

"The team is looking fit and we still have sufficient options for rotation. So I'm not concerned about the upcoming games," sporting director Sebastian Kehl said.

Guirassy has now scored in eight league matches in a row but Dortmund are still not quite as dependent on him because Beier has also done lately, including in last weekend's 3-1 over Northern Ireland with the national team in a late call-up.

Beier admitted that the call-up "inspired" him, and Kehl believes that "he will make a big step forward this year."