The U23s host SV Elversberg in the 3. Liga at the Rote Erde Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 14:00 CET). 

It was just last season that SV Elversberg moved up to the 3. Liga after being crowned champions of the Regionalliga Südwest. This season, the team from the Saarland seized the top spot on Matchday 11 and haven’t left it since. Promotion up to Bundesliga 2 looks inevitable. That said, the Elversberg machine has stalled somewhat in recent weeks; SV have gone without a win in each of their last three games.  

Dortmund coach Jan Zimmermann has been working hard to make sure things stay this way on Saturday in Dortmund. On Tuesday, Zimmermann got a close-up view of the opposition, as he watched on from the stands at SVE drew 2-2 in Duisburg. ”Elversberg have a strong attack and a very well-drilled and united team,” said the Black & Yellow coach, adding: “But they also conceded goals at points in the game where it looked like they were in control.”

Although Zimmermann was keen to emphasise his ”admiration for what they’ve done this season, playing an attractive brand of football as a newly-promoted side,” he still felt positive about his team’s prospects: ”I think we have a good shot. We can certainly get points on the board at home to Elversberg.”

If that’s to happen, the U23s will have to improve in certain areas, and Zimmermann made this clear. In the first half of their recent 2-1 defeat to Verl, his young BVB side ”didn’t always show the same all-out determination and conviction as in prior games.” There was, however, a marked improvement after the interval. But Zimmermann still sounded a note of caution: “We’ve been making too many errors of late. We have to have each other’s back even more on the pitch and be stronger in the tackles.” 

One player who has stood out in recent weeks is Guille Bueno. Since making his comeback from a knee injury against 1860 Munich, the left-back has cut an impressive figure and crowned his progress with a wonder-goal to get BVB back in the game against Verl in Paderborn. ”He has stabilised our left flank,” said Zimmermann. 

In terms of personnel, the BVB coach will be able to call on more or less the entirety of the playing squad for the clash with the league leaders. Dennis Lütke-Frie is still sidelined, though Ole Pohlmann and Cyrill Akono have been able to make their return to training. 

Should they manage to enact revenge on Elversberg for their 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture, the Black & Yellows could see themselves leapfrog FC Ingolstadt, who were in the Bundesliga 2 last season, in the league table. Zimmermann is hoping that the slip-up against Verl will act as a wake-up call for his team: “The boys have noticed that winning games is more fun than losing games.” Three points at home would see the U23s hit the 40-point mark for the season.

Daniel Mertens