Borussia Dortmund’s U23s will round off the third-division action on Matchday 33: The Black & Yellows are away to SC Verl on Monday evening (19:00 CET), with the game set to take place in second-tier SC Paderborn’s stadium.

The U23s are in action on a Monday evening for the third time this season – with all three games away from home. The two previous away matches at the beginning of the week have ended in a stalemate: 1-1 in Wiesbaden in the opening round and 0-0 in Halle in mid-October.

Dortmund coach Jan Zimmermann would not be satisfied with a third draw on a Monday this time out, even if that would at least achieve the coach’s minimum objective: “We want to continue our run.” The U23s are unbeaten in five matches. In addition, the Black & Yellows currently cannot be breached: the team have not conceded a goal in 275 minutes.

Zimmermann has observed a growing self-belief among his charges but at the same time pointed out: “We need to remain humble. We know where we were four weeks ago and are still a long way from the finish line.” However, the upward trajectory is unmistakable and the BVB delegation will make the short trip to East Westphalia full of confidence.

The Monday evening match also means a change of routine for the coach and the team. In addition to the weekend training sessions, Zimmermann is using the time to get live impressions of the upcoming opponents. A visit to the stadium for the first-team home game on Saturday evening is also on the agenda.

Next opponents SC Verl occupy 10th place in the table with an eight-point cushion over BVB. Following a run of three games without a win, the team recently picked up two victories over Bayreuth (4-1) and in Aue (3-2). Verl have also lost three games this season in their replacement home stadium. SC must play in Paderborn because the Sportclub-Arena in Verl does not yet meet the requirements for the third division.

“An open game awaits us in Verl,” predicts Zimmermann, adding: “They look to play with the ball. I’m expecting a very strong footballing opponent that poses a threat from set-pieces. They also score one or two goals from long throw-ins, but we cannot reduce them to that under any circumstances.”

The U23s narrowly won the reverse fixture at Wuppertal’s Stadion am Zoo 1-0 at the end of October, with Moritz Broschinski scoring the winning goal. In the Black & Yellow camp, the involvement of Cyrill Akono and Ole Pohlmann is doubtful for the return fixture and Dennis Lütke-Frie is definitely out.

Daniel Mertens