3 reasons why Borussia Dortmund are dark horses in the Champions League this season

Lucien Favre's Borussia Dortmund have been a revelation this Season taking both European and German Football by a storm. Dortmund are on top of the Bundesliga table, four points clear off second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach, while showing similar solidity in the Champions League, fighting off Atletico Madrid to take the Top spot in Group A courtesy a superior goal difference.

So, here's why Borussia Dortmund shouldn't be taken lightly this season and why they have all the tools to go all out this Season.

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#1 The right mix of experience and youth

Dortmund seem to have got the balance right this season

Borussia Dortmund have a lot of experience in players like captain Marco Reus, Omer Toprak, Axel Witsel and Mario Gotze, while also having veterans like Marcel Schmelzer and Lukasz Piszczek to call on from the bench.

One aspect of Dortmund that's got everybody excited this season has got to be their youthful squad. The "Die Borussen" have some extremely talented young players that are turning some heads this Season.

English teenage sensation Jadon Sancho, who is gradually solidifying his place for both country and club, has hit the ground running with 5 Goals and 7 assists in just 17 appearances out of which Sancho started the game only 8 times. Full-backs Raphaël Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi have looked impressive keeping Marcel Schmelzer and Lukasz Piszczek out of the starting XI.

American youngster Christian Pulisic who is linked to a different Premier League club every week has been in and out of the side this season but has shown some flair whenever he's come on the pitch.

Furthermore, Dortmund have always known to be a club that grooms young talent and the likes of Mahmoud Dahoud, Marius Wolf, Julien Weigl and Maximilian Phillip have also chipped in with one goal apiece in the Bundesliga.

Centre-backs Manuel Akanji and Abdou Diallo have looked particularly impressive averaging 4.3 and 4.4 clearances a game respectively. Dortmund really seems to have got the right balance this season and if they can continue to show the same level of consistency, we're all in for a treat.

#2 The resurgence of Marco Reus

Captain Marco Reus

One big reason why Borussia Dortmund has been as impressive as it has is that captain Marco Reus is fit and is playing some of his best football. The German missed almost seven months of football last season when he was nursing a cruciate ligament rupture followed by a muscular problem. But this season, he seems to have returned to top form!

Reus made only 15 appearances last Season owing to his injury but still managed to score 7 Goals last Season, just showing how much quality he has. This season, Reus has emerged as the club's top goalscorer with 11 goals in all competitions and has assisted another 4 goals.

His form has been key to the way Dortmund have performed in the past and Reus will need to play a big role if Dortmund is to win any silverware in this Season.

#3 Goals Galore!

Paco Alcacer has scored 9 Goals in 8 appearances for Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have scored 46 Goals in all competitions this season, and to put things in perspective, that's the same amount of goals as Barcelona. And no, they don't have a Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez to bang in 40 Goals a season, but what they do have is a hard-working team that's playing some excellent football this season.

Dortmund's strikers have always been world-class; Robert Lewandowski plied his trade at Dortmund (2010-14) before going on to become one of the most lethal goalscorers the world has seen for Bayern Munich, and the same goes for Pierre-Emerick Aubameiyang, before he joined Arsenal in January this Year.

This time around Dortmund have managed to acquire Barcelona loanee Paco Alcacer, who seems to be scoring goals for fun. What makes things even more amusing is that the Spaniard has started only 4 games for Dortmund owing to small muscle injuries.

Despite the injuries and the appearances off the bench, Alcacer averages one goal every 44.5 Minutes. Absolutely sensational. It isn't only Alcacer who is finding the back of the net regularly even Marco Reus and Jado Sancho are pitching in with 11 and 5 Goals respectively. Fun fact, Dortmund have 14 different Goalscorers in the Bundesliga. Talk about team spirit!