U23s set to host 1860 Munich at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK

The mood in the BVB camp has noticeably improved since the 2-1 victory in Zwickau a fortnight ago. The increased self-belief comes at the right point in time, because Borussia have a really tough task awaiting them in their next home game: 1860 Munich. The Munich Lions have finished successive 3. Liga seasons in fourth place. This season, though, the Bavarians are targeting promotion. U23 coach Christian Preusser has high expectations of the opposition, saying: "The coach has already been there a long time; the team has been strengthened in certain areas. Their processes have been totally fine-tuned. They are – along with Elversberg – the strongest side at the moment, and you can see that from the table too."

The team are on the right track and occupy second spot, with 22 out of a possible 27 points. Their only slip-up in the league to date was the 4-1 loss to promoted league leaders SV Elversberg. That was followed by another minor setback during the week as the Lions were knocked out of the Verbandspokal by fourth-tier FV Illertissen. "We of course watched both games. The defeat in the league shows that Elversberg are a very strong team too. And I believe that their elimination from the Landespokal will not have any impact on the match this weekend. Some of the players who usually would not play got some minutes under their belts. But first and foremost, we want to concentrate on ourselves," Preusser said.

On the topic of cups, 1860 faced BVB earlier this season in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. The Borussia first team ran out comfortable victors at the Grünwalder Stadion, winning 3-0. Back in the third tier meanwhile, none of the teams had any fixtures scheduled last weekend and the U23s used the break to stage a friendly against Go Ahead Eagles Deventer. The run-out against the Dutch Eredivisie side ended in a 4-2 defeat. "We're never satisfied with defeats. But you have to break the match down. The first half was very good; we were 2-0 up. The fact we went on to lose relatively clearly is of course frustrating. But it served its purpose. They were good opponents, so overall it was okay," said the reserve-team coach, putting the friendly into perspective.

In addition, the game served as a good opportunity for the new assistant coach Julian Koch to gain a first impression of the team. The new assistant is a familiar face in Dortmund. The 31-year progressed through all the junior ranks at BVB and ultimately made more than 50 appearances for the U23s. Christian Preusser is delighted with his new right-hand man. "I'm happy that we managed to find such a good solution so quickly after Pascal Bieler's departure. The first days have been super. We've gotten to know each other well. He's highly motivated and is making a very good contribution.

The coaching staff will work together to ensure that the team carries the momentum from their win against Zwickau into the match on Saturday. It was the first away victory of the season for the Black & Yellows – and they managed to score more than once for the first time this term. Preusser is sure that will serve to bolster the self-belief within the squad: "That was important for us; not only in terms of the table, as our rivals picked up points too. We created a lot of chances to score and this time we took two of them. During the week of training, you could see our confidence levels were slightly higher, but we can't and don't want to rest on our laurels."

They cannot afford to either, as their position in the table remains serious. Despite their win on the last matchday, Borussia remain in 18th place. Hence why BVB are determined to build on that and bid a fitting farewell to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. The U23s' game against 1860 will be their last at the stadium for the time being, with the venue for their upcoming matches yet to be determined.