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Pre-Match Report

Under-23s enter final straight of the season in Mannheim

The international break helped the Borussia Dortmund Under-23s to prepare for the final straight of the season in the third league. On Saturday (29.03) at 14:00 CET the Borussians will be playing away in front of a record crowd to SV Waldhof Mannheim, who are next to them in the table, for the first of their nine remaining games of the season. MagentaSport will be broadcasting the match live. 

The scenario: The Borussians lost their first game of the season against SV Waldhof Mannheim 0-1, conceding in front of a home crowd in the 83rd minute. With this victory, the Mannheimers put the two teams on an equal footing: three wins each to BVB and SVW. Only one game between the two teams has ended in a draw. 

The Under-23s: BVB coach Jan Zimmerman's team have been waiting for a win for their last five games. Recently, they came away with two draws against Dresden (0-0) and Cologne (1-1). In terms of personell, the situation of the Black&Yellows has become somewhat more relaxed: although Patrick Göbel will be missing (suspension - yellow card) alongside Felix Paschke, Felix Irorere and Filippo Mane who have been injured for some time, Zimmerman will be able to draw on the rest of the squad in Mannheim on Saturday. "The lads are feeling good - we want to take our enthusiasm into the game with us. But we don't want to make the game seem more important than it really is, because there's still everything to play for in the remaining games," said the Under-23s coach, whose team is just one goal behind SVW in the table and one point ahead of VfB Stuttgart II, who are in the first relegation spot. 

Facts and stats about the opposition: The Mannheimers have given strong performances in their home stadium so far, and have not lost any of their five home games in 2025. Three wins - including a 5-0 result against Hansa Rostock - and two draws have given SVW confidence in their battle to avoid relegation. "They often play long balls from the back - we need to counteract that," explained Zimmermann. Thanks to a free ticket giveaway, 18,000 tickets have already been allocated for the game against the BVB Under-23s on Saturday in the Carl Benz Stadium. "It will be an interesting atmosphere, and it will strengthen the intensity of the Mannheimers' game even more," said the BVB coach. 

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