Now regardless of what happened to Dortmund last season, they should try to play better this time, but if you look at the beginning of the season, it is inversely proportional to their performance in the previous season.
Indeed, for the beginning of last season they were also almost the same because in the first 10 matches they could not play well but this means that they have not changed and their performance remains the same as before which makes hope in the Bundesliga competition this time most likely will not be seen again.
As for Leipzig, no matter how bad or good they are at the beginning of the season in the end I still think the top 4 is their place only for the title competition even if they play well they still won't be able to do that now.
In the Bundesliga, where Bayern Munich frequently overshadows the hopes of smaller clubs, it is a tricky scenario. Last season Dortmund had a chance to beat Bayern, but they blew it highlighting the enormous mental and physical gap between them and Bayern. Leipzig consistently earns a berth in the top 4 while occasionally being unreliable. Although they may not be in the running for the championship right away their season long performance has been promising they are now third with just one loss. This implies that they might push Bayern for the trophy in the future. Dortmund missed their moment to take advantage of it, but it is feasible that they'll improve in the future and try to unseat the current champions.
Dortmund had a golden chance last season but they blew it, it will surely pain them but it's too late to cry, I hope they sit better and get to receive the trophy this season. More so, I've never doubted Dortmund has a viable contender in the Bundesliga, and no matter their performance, I know they could win, and that is evident in their regular season top running, this season will not be different. Mind you, none of Bayern nor Dortmund has lost any local league match this season and UCL has not started yet.
The two of them only drew, while Bayern Munich drew once, and Dortmund drew twice, which explains why they are in the 7th position right now. However, it shouldn't be long before the table readjusts and will bring down most of the occupiers of the top spots, while clubs like Dortmund will occupy a better top position.