With four points from their opening two games, BVB coach Enrico Maassen feels that his team has made a solid start to the 2022 calendar year. The Black & Yellows followed up their victory over Waldhof Mannheim with a deserved draw against the SC Freiburg reserves. On Wednesday evening, the second-best away team in the division will travel away to fifth-placed 1. FC Saarbrücken. Kick-off at Ludwigspark is at 19:00 CET.

The Saarland side sit in fifth place with 37 points from 22 matches – three more points than the Black & Yellows, who occupy seventh spot in the table. Coach Uwe Koschinat's charges have won six of their last eight matches across all competitions and recently improved their position in the standings thanks to a victory against Duisburg. The standout performer on the pitch in that game was once again forward Adriano Grimaldi, whose brace set the Saarbrücken outfit on the path to victory. He has already notched 10 goals and four assists this season.

The reverse fixture between the teams at Stadion Rote Erde last August ended in a goalless stalemate. The overall head-to-head record is even, with BVB and Saarbrücken both winning three matches, while there have been four draws. The last meeting in the Saarland back in March 2014 ended in a narrow 1-0 triumph for BVB thanks to a goal from David Solga. Manuel Zeitz, who nowadays wears the captain's armband, was in the Saarbrücken squad that day.

BVB boss Enrico Maassen has an almost full squad at his disposal. Richmond Tachie is available after serving a ban. But Marco Pasalic, who is currently regaining match fitness, and the suspended Lennard Maloney will miss out.