It will be a short trip for Borussia Dortmund's U23s as they travel the 100 km down the A2 to Verl. BVB are looking to build on the 2-1 victory against Viktoria Köln last time out against SC Verl on Saturday (kick-off: 14:00 CET) and claim their first away win of the current Drittliga season at the fourth attempt.

The two teams' paths last crossed at the end of April, when Dortmund fell to a 2-1 defeat. That game took place in Paderborn, as SCV's Sportclub-Arena was being rebuilt at the time. The new jewel of East Westphalia also includes the longest stadium bar in Germany inside the main stand, spanning some 65.2 metres.

Verl are on a roll in the league in recent weeks: after three defeats at the start of the season, Verl even found themselves bottom at times, but have climbed into mid-table after going three games without defeat. BVB are currently one point and two places above SCV.

"They have scored the most goals in the league, but they have also conceded the most," said Dortmund coach Jan Zimmermann, describing his side's next opponents. "They are very brave on the ball and tough to defend against. However, they also frequently concede chances for the other team to score goals." 

One man who BVB are hoping to get on the end of those chances is Ole Pohlmann. The 22-year-old was the match-winner for BVB last Saturday in the 2-1 win against Cologne – and not only because he scored the winning goal. "He has picked up from where he left off at the end of last season," said Zimmermann, praising the midfielder. "He's very hard-working. He played a very good game against Victoria, as did some others. For Ole, it's about getting consistency into his game."

Ideally, Pohlmann will be looking to cause problems for a former teammate on Saturday: Luca Unbehaun moved from Dortmund to Verl in the summer and has played the full 90 minutes in all six games so far this season. Zimmermann and Unbehaun worked together in training at times last season, as the keeper floated between the Bundesliga squad and the U23s. However, the 22-year-old did not make any appearances under Zimmermann. Nevertheless, the coach had this to say on the former BVB man: "Luca is a good goalkeeper. I am pleased that he has found a club where he is now getting regular game time."

In Verl, BVB will still be without Prince Aning, Dennis Lütke-Frie, Moses Otuali, Jonah Husseck and Silas Ostrzinski.
Daniel Mertens