Pre-Match Report
BVB Hosts Paderborn on a High Note
Two wins in the Bundesliga, one in the Cup, and one in the UEFA Champions League—BVB has recently celebrated four consecutive victories. In the Bundesliga standings, the Black and Yellows sit in third place with the maximum six points. Regarding the midweek match against Villarreal CF (3-2), BVB coach Niko Kovac says: “Of course, you drain yourself physically, but also mentally. Now it’s about regaining mental focus immediately so we can switch gears back to the Bundesliga.” He said his team is the favorite against the newly promoted side: “We’re playing at home and want to win—that’s our goal.” But: “There are no easy games in the Bundesliga. You have to play them in a way that puts you right in the game from the start. That’s why I want my lads to come out strong from the first minute and get our fans back behind us as quickly as possible so we can play successful football.”
Squad
Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini have returned to team training following their injuries and are available for the Paderborn match. “They’re fit, healthy, and ready to play this weekend. I can count on both of them,” said Kovac. Konstantinos Karetsas will not be available; he had to be substituted during the match against Villarreal due to circulatory problems.
Opponent
For the third time in its club history, SC Paderborn has been promoted to the Bundesliga. “A team that has the ambition to stay in the league. We’ll certainly face a deep defensive block from an opponent looking to counterattack,” said Kovac. On the first matchday, the team earned a point at FSV Mainz 05 (0–0) and then lost 0–1 at home to SC Freiburg. The team currently sits in 12th place in the standings. Despite 23 shots on goal, Paderborn hasn’t scored a single goal yet. Defensively, however, they haven’t conceded much and have goalkeeper Nahuel Noll to thank, who has allowed only one goal so far. Paderborn’s Felix Götze (who played for BVB’s youth team until 2014) and Steffen Tigges (2019–2022) have both worn the Black and Yellow jersey in the past.
High-Scoring Match
BVB has never lost a competitive match against SC Paderborn: There have been two DFB-Pokal clashes, both of which saw the Black and Yellows advance to the next round. In the Bundesliga, the Borussians have won two matches so far, with two others ending in draws. The most memorable match to date was their last Bundesliga clash in late May 2020. In that coronavirus-induced game played behind closed doors in Paderborn, the Borussians had a weak first half but stepped up their game after the break. All seven goals in the 6-1 victory came in the second half. It was the highest-scoring half of the 2019-20 season. For BVB, Jadon Sancho (3), Thorgan Hazard, Achraf Hakimi, and Marcel Schmelzer—scoring his final professional goal—found the back of the net.
Christina Reinke
