After a four-week international and Easter break, the Junior Bundesligas will enter the final phase of the season at the weekend. Borussia's U19s will host VfL Bochum on Sunday (11:00 CET), while the U17s are at 1. FC Köln on Saturday (11:00 CET).

A victory in the Little Derby would see Mike Tullberg's U19s achieve their first objective of the season and book their ticket for the Final Round of the German Championship after only 21 rounds of matches. If Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 also draw in the battle of the closest challengers, the third German Championship in succession would then be almost in the bag with a lead of 15 points over second place and an outstanding goal difference (plus 25 vis-à-vis Leverkusen and Schalke). The remaining five Bundesliga matches will see BVB face Fortuna Düsseldorf, SC Verl and SC Paderborn (away) plus MSV Duisburg and Schalke 04 (home).

"Our objective is to become West German champions. That's the most important title for me, because it's won by the team that performs the best over the entire season and picks up the most points. But we will not celebrate until we can no longer be mathematically ousted from first place," explained Mike Tullberg, who added: "We're only interested in the game against Bochum on Sunday, which we want to win." 

VfL might have failed to meet their own expectations this season, but the Blue & Whites have put in extraordinary performances in derbies in particular. "Bochum are having a curious season. VfL are producing strong performances against the top teams and giving the best account of themselves, but are really struggling against supposedly weaker ones," said Tullberg as he puzzled over the opposition's true performance level.  His boys will be focusing in particular on Mohammad Mahmoud, who is third in the A-Junior Bundesliga West scoring charts with 15 goals – behind Winsley Boteli of Mönchengladbach (17 goals) and Borussia's Paris Brunner (16 goals).

BVB won the reverse fixture 3-1. Danylo Krevsun, who scored a brace that day, will miss out on Sunday due to suspension. Also among the absentees will be the injured Tyler Meiser and centre-back Leonardo Posadas, who has returned to training and is on the verge of making his comeback. "I have 16 outfield players available, the most in a long time," said a delighted Tullberg in reference to his options, which also include long-term injury absentees Luke Rahmann and U17 World Cup winner Charles Herrmann.

U17s off to Cologne

A tough task awaits the Borussia U17s against 1. FC Köln, who are unbeaten in the second half-season. With 54 points, BVB have climbed up to second place in the table behind Bayer Leverkusen (56), while the Black & Yellows have three points more and a better goal difference than third-placed Schalke 04. "Every player has a big goal in sight that we want to achieve together. We're on a roll and are heading to Cologne full of confidence, even though 1. FC have taken a significant leap forward," declared Marco Lehmann. In the reverse fixture, BVB beat a then weakened Köln side by a 3-0 scoreline. "We have a strong team and want to maintain the three-point cushion over Schalke," Lehmann assured.

(wiwi)