Regionalliga West
U23s to close out first half of the season at home to Bergisch Gladbach
On Saturday afternoon, the Borussia Dortmund U23s will bring the first round of fixtures of the current Regionalliga season to a close with a match at home to bottom-of-the-table side SV Bergisch Gladbach 09. The visitors, who earned promotion to the division last season, come to the Strobelallee with just seven points on the board. The Black & Yellows, for their part, will be determined to treat the home fans to a win and bring their points tally up to 24.
Last week's match away to top-of-the-table side SC Verl proved fruitless for BVB. ''We can have no complaints about the 2-0 defeat,'' said BVB Coach Mike Tullberg, who expects his team to enjoy more of the ball and create more goal-scoring opportunities in this week's meeting with Bergisch Gladbach. The visitors have only managed to notch up two victories so far this season: in September away to Bonner SC and, more recently, in their trip last week to play TuS Haltern, where they ran out 3-1 winners.
Saturday's fixture promises to be the first encounter between the two sides in which the Black & Yellows will go in as favourites. BVB Head Coach Mike Tullberg will be able to call on the services of first-team squad members Mateu Morey, Leonardo Balerdi and Tobias Raschl. Raschl joins the U23s on the back of a stand-out performance in Wednesday's UEFA Youth League match away to Barcelona, during which he provided an assist and scored the winning goal as the Black & Yellows triumphed 2-1.
The match will be broadcast live on BVB-TV. Coverage starts at 14:00 CET. The Rote Erde Stadium will open to spectators at 12:30 CET.