Borussia Dortmund's trip to Newcastle could go a long way to prove if they are as good as their Bundesliga form suggests. 

Edin Terzic's men are unbeaten in the German top flight this season, sitting fourth in the table having won each of their last five games. 

Yet they have made a slow start to their Champions League campaign, taking only one point from their opening two matches in arguably the competition's toughest group.

Ahead of Dortmund's crucial match at St James' Park tonight, we examine whether they have the quality to progress in Europe and achieve their domestic ambitions. 

Unbeaten start

It has been an impressive start to the season for Borussia Dortmund in trying circumstances. 

Back in May, they suffered heartbreak on the final day of the season when they failed to beat Mainz at home, which allowed Bayern Munich to pip them to the title. 

Dortmund then lost their best player in the summer, when Jude Bellingham was transferred to Real Madrid. 

So to have an unbeaten record with 20 points from their first eight games says much for the resilience of Terzic's side and the club's ability to rebuild. 

It has only been good enough to see them in fourth place in a very competitive Bundesliga but it compares favourably to last season, when they only had 15 points by this stage. 

Terzic has a good mix of experience and young talent available to him, as they look to go one better than last season. 

Toughest group

Dortmund would qualify from most of the groups in the Champions League this season but Group F is not most groups. 

They were drawn alongside this evening's opponents Newcastle, French champions Paris Saint-Germain and last season's semi-finalists AC Milan. 

Terzic's team find themselves bottom after two games, with a single point, yet the manager has spoken confidently regarding Dortmund's chances of turning things around. 

He said: "When you look at this group that we're in, you can see the strength of it. 

"They [Newcastle] are top of the group at the moment but only three points ahead. Only two games are gone, so it's really tight. 

"Tomorrow we need to produce a very good performance so that we can earn a victory." 

Dortmund lost 2-0 in their opening match at PSG, before drawing 0-0 at home to Milan. 

Success drive

Terzic has talked about his pragmatic tactical approach with Dortmund, that he believes provides a more sustainable pathway to success. 

He added: "We tried to draw our conclusions in the summer. Less sexy, more success-oriented. 

"We've played beautiful and sexy football long enough over the last 10 years but in the end it didn't lead to us achieving our goals to the maximum. 

"You can talk about constant development. We've picked up 66 points from 27 games. 

"You have to look in Europe to see if any other team has managed that." 

Terzic's approach certainly seems a sensible one for the club's long-term aims but the jury is still out on whether it can be effective in big one-off games. 

Dortmund have so far failed to score a goal in two Champions League encounters against elite opposition. 

The trip to Tyneside and an upcoming run of fixtures against elite Bundesliga opposition will give us a clearer idea of where this team are at.