The U23s will play their final game of the 2019 calendar year on Saturday afternoon. Lotte, relegated from the third tier last term, will be the opponents at 14:00 CET. BVB can feel confident ahead of their trip to North-Rhine Westphalia. 

"My boys put in a very respectable performance. That's why I praised my boys, but it was ultimately a defeat for us. However, I believe there has been a consistent improvement in recent weeks. That's what counts for me and we'll go again against Lotte next week," said BVB coach Mike Tullberg following a bitter defeat to Essen on a rain-soaked pitch last time out. His team dominated for long spells and had clear chances but conceded a goal – which, in retrospect, should have been disallowed for offside – with only two minutes to go. A double blow, but the Black & Yellows will not let the setback knock them off their stride and will now be aiming to round off the 2019 calendar year with a win against Lotte.

In an ideal scenario, BVB will win and climb to seventh in the table. And the omens are pretty good too. The Black & Yellows emerged 2-1 winners from the reverse fixture with Lotte, with Mory Konate and Steffen Tigges scoring the goals in front of 4,000 fans at Stadion Rote Erde. The overall head-to-head record against Sportfreunde is very good too, with the last defeat at Autobahnkreuz coming back in 2009.

Once the match is over, the team and coaching staff will begin their winter break. Preparations for the remainder of the Regionalliga campaign will then start shortly after the turn of the year.