Saarbrücken at home – another top match awaits the U23s

The Borussia Dortmund U23s will play host to 1. FC Saarbrücken in the 3. Liga on Friday (19:00 CET). The Saarland outfit are currently in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals and were seen as promotion candidates before the season.

The Saarland side ran out 2-1 victors in the most recent meeting in Dortmund in February 2023, a game that took place at the neighbouring SIGNAL IDUNA PARK due to the renovation works taking place at the Rote Erde. The two teams had drawn 0-0 in the 2021/22 campaign - still under corona conditions and without spectators. BVB have only previously won at home once against the Black & Blues: the Black & Yellows won 1-0 in November 1998 thanks to a goal from Christian Timm.

The BVB second team are playing a game in parallel to the first team for the 15th time this season, which renders personnel planning more difficult for U23 coach Jan Zimmermann. At least the in-form Ayman Azhil will make a return from suspension. "There will be little change to the personnel situation. We're of course delighted that Ayman is back from his suspension," commented Jan Zimmermann. Antonios Papadopoulos and Bjarne Pudel are back on the training pitch again, but the pair are not ready to make an appearance. Zimmermann said: "The game comes a few days too soon for them. But we're glad that they're both back on the training pitch with us."

Carry momentum into the game

The U23s have beaten Jahn Regensburg and Dynamo Dresden in their last two matches; both teams were top of the table at the time the match took place. "We want to carry forward the momentum and the self-confidence from the recent games," explained Zimmermann, who also warned of the strengths of the team in 11th place: "We know that in Saarbrücken, another really strong opponent awaits us that were among the favourites for promotion prior to the season and have eliminated two Bundesliga clubs from the DFB-Pokal. Individually, they are a top team. It will be a difficult task for us to find a good balance. We want to shape the game, but we can only make a few mistakes so as not to give them any space."

The visitors will still be without midfielder Richard Neudecker and the forward duo of Patrick Schmidt and Sebastian Jacob, who are also injured. The Saarland side are also without defenders Calogero Rizzuto and Boné Uaferro, who were shown red and yellow cards respectively in the previous match against Ingolstadt. Midfielder Julia Biada is still suspended. FCS coach Rüdiger Ziehl was thus pleased to announce the arrival of defender Robin Becker during the week. The 27-year-old is expected to be part of the squad for the first time in Dortmund.

Kick-off is at 19:00 CET. Tickets for the BVB third-division game are available via the Online Ticket Shop and the ticket office.