Borussia Dortmund's U23s will approach the upcoming fixture pile-up in positive mood, having recorded a 3-1 friendly victory over second-tier outfit Arminia Bielefeld during the international break.

Jan Siewert's charges now face a challenging run of three away games in the space of seven days, with trips to Wegberg, Wiedenbrück, Düsseldorf all on the agenda. The first of those matches kicks off at 19:30 CET on Tuesday in Wegberg-Beeck, where the Black & Yellows will be looking to end a negative run – they have taken just one point from their last three league outings – against last season's 15th-placed side. Considering that the first team will not be playing at the same time, some BVB fans will be able to make the 110-kilometre journey to near the Dutch border.

Serra and Bansen unavailable in Wegberg-Beeck

The U23s, who are currently down in ninth, have three games in hand on current table-toppers Uerdingen. The distance to the summit should not be a cause for concern, however, with the top of the table currently so tightly packed that three wins from those three games in hand could put BVB back in pole position It won't be easy, though. First of all they face a difficult trip to Wegberg-Beeck, where Jan Siewert will not have the full squad at his disposal. Janni Serra and Eike Bansen are still on international duty, although Beyhan Ametov and Anagyros Kampetsis have already returned to Dortmund, while Massimo Ornatelli could feature as well.
Timo Lammert