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Pre-Match Report

"A lot of momentum and pressure" - the U23s at Hansa Rostock

After the Cup break, the Borussia Dortmund U23s will meet FC Hansa Rostock on Saturday at 2pm in the Baltic Sea Stadium (live on Magenta-TV). The opposition, recently relegated from the second division, is already under pressure after two match days, and wants to bag its first victory at home. At BVB, there are two late departures to report.

Details about BVB: Shortly before the transfer window closed, left-back Guillermo Bueno transferred to second division team Darmstadt on a loan. Abdoulaye Kamara is leaving Dortmund after three years and is now a member of FC Portsmouth. Paul Besong was unfortunately injured during the break and is currently out of action. In terms of the Rostock side, there will be a reunion with the former U23s captain Franz Pfanne, who transferred from Dortmund to the League rival team before the start of the season.

Facts and stats about the hosts: Founded in 1954, Hansa is known as an important traditional club in German football. With some brief interruptions, the club was part of the Bundesliga until 2007. Then, after two years in the second division, came relegation to the third division. From the 2012/13 season to the 2020/21 season, the Rostockers were stuck in the third division. Then they returned to playing in the division above for three years, and are now playing in the third division again. Hopes for promotion were high, but the season didn't start as planned: a 1:1 draw with VfB Stuttgart II was followed by a 0:1 loss to Wehen Wiesbaden and the club's Cup exit after a 1:5 loss to Hertha BSC.

The balance: Due to the divisions the clubs were playing in, the last time they played against each other competitively was in 2015. The most recent victory for Borussia so far was the 2:1 win in Rostock on 14 September 2013. At the beginning of January, the two teams met in a test match, which Hansa won 3:1. 

Prospects: BVB coach Jan Zimmermann shared some of his insights: "We are expecting a lot of momentum and pressure, both from the stands and also from Hansa as a team. Because of the late transfers, there is a certain level of uncertainty in the changing rooms and on the training ground, but we've used the break well." In the last few days, his team successfully completed a test against Preußen Münster.

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