U23s to battle for Drittliga points in Saarbrücken on Friday

Six days after the home match against Dynamo Dresden, the next big name await Borussia Dortmund’s U23s: 1. FC Saarbrücken are another side with aspirations of promotion. 

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The current table is certainly deceptive, as it shows FCS alongside BVB on five points after the first four games. Nevertheless, the side from the Saarland are used to being in a very different part of the table. Last season, the former Bundesliga club narrowly missed out on promotion to the second Bundesliga, finishing fifth – one point away from making their dream reality.

Dortmund coach Jan Zimmermann expects a “very intense, aggressive game” on Friday evening. He is calling on his team “to defend compactly and as a unit and to be brave on the ball”.

The spotlight will certainly be on Marcel Lotka once again. The 22-year-old goalkeeper kept his team in the game against Dresden with strong saves – demonstrating once again how important he is for the team. The former Polish U21 national goalkeeper joined BVB from Hertha Berlin in the summer of 2022, having already played ten Bundesliga games in the capital.

In Dortmund, the goalkeeper has been one of the top performers for the U23s since his transfer. With a kicker average grade of 2.62, he was rated the second best player in the 3. Liga in the 2022/23 season. And the Duisburg-born player has picked up where he left off this season, and with a grade of 2.50, he is again in the top six of all Drittliga players.

“You can always rely on him,” said Zimmermann, praising his first-choice keeper. “He is a professional who always wants to improve and develop. He always puts the team before himself.”

Lotka is the backbone of an already very stable defence, which went some 276 minutes without conceding a goal at the beginning of the season. The two goals Dresden scored last Saturday were the first two goals BVB’s U23s have conceded this season. 

Meanwhile, there is still room for improvement going forward: the Black and Yellows have scored just one goal after the first four games, Michael Eberwein’s goal securing the 1-0-victory against Freiburg on Matchday 2. However, Zimmermann remains relaxed despite that statistic: “We’ve had good chances to score in most games. If we hadn’t created any chances, I would be worried. We don’t have the rhythm we need up-front, as many of our attackers have been injured recently, or spent most of pre-season with the Bundesliga team.”

In any case, Marcel Lotka would be happy if it were the Dortmund’s attackers this time drawing the attention of the fans inside the newly built Ludwigsparkstadion with some impressive moves and goals.
Daniel Mertens