Early test for Dortmund

Thomas Tuchel opens his chapter as Borussia Dortmund head coach with a third qualifying round tie against Austrian side Wolfsberger AC.

The former Mainz coach - the successor of Jürgen Klopp this summer - has taken his side to Japan, Malaysia and Switzerland for pre-season preparations. With just four weeks of training under their belts, Dortmund is back in competitive action despite the Bundesliga opener still three weeks away.

"The mood is good," admitted Kevin Kampl who played in Austria for two seasons with Red Bull Salzburg. "I watched their [Wolfsberger] home game here last week. They are a compact defensive unit and they try to play on the counterattack."

Tuchel has stressed the need for patience as he looks to assimilate ideas on to his current squad. "We've taken every game seriously because we want to get to know each other quickly, so we can understand each other better," said Tuchel at the pre-match news conference on Wednesday.

"What we want is very complex. It's not about our own style. It's about our own understanding of football on the pitch."

Start of a new era

One open question is the first-choice goalkeeper for next season. Long-term number one Roman Weidenfeller has fallen out of favor since the arrival of Roman Bürki from Freiburg. Despite the four million euro signing, Tuchel insists he hasn't yet decided between either of his options.

"We still have one more training session to go. The goalkeeper position will be decided after that. It won't be a permanent decision either," he said.

Bürki is one example of how Tuchel has tried to change Dortmund's play - the goalkeeper has been trusted with distribution from the back, taking the responsibility away from one of the holding midfielders.

New additions in the centre of the park, Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro, are available for selection and have impressed in pre-season. "The goal is to move into the group stages," said Marcel Schmelzer before travelling to Austria

Opponents Wolfsberger earned promotion to the top-flight in 2010 following more than two decades in the lower divisions. Last season, the club finished fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga and booked a maiden appearance in Europe.

The first hurdle of the second qualifying round against Belarus' Shakhtyor Soligorsk they passed with flying colors, beating the Belarusians by three goals over two legs, setting up the biggest game in the club's 84-year history.

Head coach Dietmar Kühbauer has described the meeting with Dortmund as the toughest possible encounter at this stage. While Tuchel had a word of warning for his charges, claiming Dortmund had everything to lose, his counterpart stressed the same. "We have nothing to lose tomorrow," Kühbauer noted.

There is extra incentive for Dortmund to win the competition, which requires a maximum of 19 matches with the final held in Basel. A Europa League triumph would secure automatic Champions League qualification as an additional prize.