Top spot in sight – BVB U23 visit Sportfreunde Siegen | OneFootball

With Borussia Mönchengladbach II (2:3 against VfL Bochum II), one of Borussia Dortmund II’s rivals near the top of the Regionalliga West already slipped up on Friday evening. FC Gütersloh (away to 1. FC Bocholt) could temporarily push BVB’s U23s down from second place this Saturday, but Dortmund could respond on Sunday (kick-off: 2 p.m.) in their away match at Sportfreunde Siegen and at the same time put pressure on league leaders Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, who have three more points, as they face SC Paderborn II in parallel.

Nothing less than the next three points is the goal, and after the opening weeks of the season, coach Daniel Rios is looking ahead with great confidence on the club website: “Positive results are the best therapy. The team has simply handled each situation very well. Week after week, they have this desire to improve.”

After three days off following an intense period, capped by the 4:2 win against 1. FC Bocholt, BVB have prepared in a focused way for the task in Siegen. Jan-Luca Riedl, Fadi Zarqelain and Ismael Mansaray, who were recently absent through injury, could also be available again. Regardless of the exact look of his starting lineup, Rios is certain he will be able to field a strong eleven in any case: “The competition for places is intense. We as a coaching staff had no concerns about bringing one player or another in. That means the boys keep pushing each other more and more to take the next step in their development. No one is taking a step back. That benefits every individual and the team.”

Rios warns about Siegen

Siegen started the season with ambition, but managed only two points from their first four matches and largely let that stretch go to waste. Under coach Volkan Uluc, who arrived in August, Sportfreunde have since worked their way up to sixth place — and, in BVB coach Rios’ view, they are not done yet.

Photo: IMAGO

“The table standings do not reflect at all what this Siegen team has — namely a lot of individual quality and a lot of experience. They have become more stable in recent weeks. I still believe Siegen will be higher up in the long run,” said Rios, who clearly still has Sportfreunde on his radar in the promotion race and will accordingly make it clear to his team that a strong performance will be needed to take all three points.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.