Pre-Match Report
U23s away to league leaders Dresden
Head-to-head record: Dynamo Dresden were already top of the league at the time of the reverse fixture at the beginning of October. Borussia secured the three points at Stadion Rote Erde, claiming a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Jordi Paulina and Antonio Foti. Dynamo's top scorer Christoph Daferner had temporarily levelled the scores. Wednesday evening's clash will be the 19th meeting between the two teams. Dortmund have won six, Dresden eight. There have only been three draws.
News from the U23 camp: Following the return from Munich, captain Ayman Azhil and Danylo Krevsun added their names to an injury list that already includes Marcel Lotka, Felix Paschke, Felix Irorere, Julian Hettwer and Niklas Jessen. "We mustn't lose our nerve," said Jan Zimmermann, in reference to the tense situation towards the bottom of the table. After last weekend, the U23s are only two points away from a relegation berth. The first half away to 1860 Munich on Sunday annoyed the head coach, whose team was completely harmless in attack and had defensive issues on several occasions: "We're currently going through a phase where we're not turning the close games in our favour – we have to work to make that happen again. We're convinced by the team and want to be bold and go on the attack in Dresden."
Stats and facts on the opposition: With 51 points on the board, Dynamo Dresden already have an eight-point lead over fourth place, with the Saxony outfit followed by Saarbrücken (50) and Cottbus (48). Dresden have suffered only one loss on home turf to date – a 3-2 defeat against Viktoria Köln on 19 January. BVB coach Jan Zimmermann declared: "This is the best squad in the league and the team with the best infrastructure. In terms of the overall constellation, it's a big challenge." Dynamo have the league's top scorer in Christoph Daferner, who has 15 goals to his name – although it was Niklas Hauptmann who scored the winning goal in the 1-0 victory at Alemannia Aachen last weekend.