Borussia's U19s will square off with VfL Wolfsburg in the second leg of their German Championship semi-final in a few hours' time (Monday, 18:30 CET). "We need to be fired up for the title and show real desire in order to achieve the maximum that is possible as junior players," said coach Benjamin Hoffmann.

The scenario: Having triumphed 3-2 in Wolfsburg, BVB only need to draw to secure a final berth. Should Wolfsburg win by one goal then the tie will immediately go to a penalty shootout, regardless of the scoreline. The semi-final does not follow the same format as European competition, meaning the away goals rule won't apply if both teams have scored the same number of goals.

The opposition: Wolfsburg ended their domestic compaign in the Bundesliga North/North East unbeaten (23 wins, three draws, 72 points) and with a 15-point lead over second-placed Hertha Berlin. Their side is brimming with national team players. "They are extremely strong opponents," said BVB Youth Coordinator Lars Ricken.

The first leg: VfL twice took the lead (Timothy Mason and Richmond Tachie in the 13th and 42nd minutes respectively) but Borussia twice levelled – first from an own goal (23) and then from a Dzenis Burnic effort (75) - before captain Burnic scored from the spot in the 84th minute to wrap up the win.

Question marks surrounding Burnic and Mangala

The players: BVB coach Benjamin Hoffmann will be without forward Jakob Bruun Larsen (stress fracture in foot), defensive specialist Patrick Fritsch (torn cruciate ligament) and Dario Scuderi (rehab following operation). Doubts still surround the involvement of Dzenis Burnic and Orel Mangala, whose appearances in training have been limited over the last few days. First-team player Felix Passlack will be in Hoffmann's squad. Wolfsburg have no absentees.

The experience: BVB have a clear advantage here, with some of the players (Dzenis Burnic, Felix Passlack, Jan Binias) currently in a German Championship semi-final for the fourth year in a row and others (such as Eike Bansen, Luca Kilian, Amos Pieper, Alexander Laukart, Niklas Beste, Dominik Wanner, David Kopacz, Etienne Amenyido, Janni Serra, Gabriel Kyeremateng, Julian Schwermann, Tim Sechelmann, Hüseyin Bulut) who have made at least one semi-final appearance with the U17s and U19s.

The coaches: Benjamin Hoffmann has been part of the BVB coaching staff for years. He led the U17s into the final of the last year's German Championship, where they succumbed 2-0 to Leverkusen, before taking over the U19 reins from Stuttgart-bound Hannes Wolf on 21 September 2016. Thomas Reis took over VfL Wolfsburg's U19s at the start of the season. The former Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Bochum player had been working in various roles at VfL Bochum since 2011.

"Two very even games"

The coach reactions: Benjamin Hoffmann: "We're leading 1-0 and we need to stay fully focused. These are two very even games. We really want to make the final in Signal Iduna Park, but it'll be a mammoth challenge." Thomas Reis: "The lads were naturally downbeat after the unnecessary and unlucky first-leg defeat. We know what we're capable of and will give everything we've got to turn it around."

The venue: The match will take place on Pitch 1 at the Youth Training Centre in Brackel, the BVB training ground, and will kick off at 18:30 CET. The attendance is limited to 1,200 places. Benjamin Hoffmann ruled out the possibility of switching locations "because we don't want to give up our home advantage". The final – should the Black and Yellows reach it – will be at Signal Iduna Park on Monday 22 May (19:30 CET).

Where to watch: Sport.1 will show the semi-final return leg live from 18:25 CET.
Wilfried Wittke