U19s and U17s awaiting two top matches | OneFootball

The battle for the top four places, whose occupants will qualify for the knockout rounds of the German Championship, continues to intensify in Group D of the U19 DFB-Nachwuchsliga. With three rounds of matches to go before the end of the main round, Leipzig top the table with 16 points from eight games, followed by Karlsruher SC (13/7), BVB (13/7) and FSV Mainz 05 (11/7). The teams in first and second place in the final standings will enjoy home advantage in the round of 16.

The goal is a top-two finish for Borussia, who will be facing a tough task at the Arthur-Beier-Stadion in Karlsruhe. Mike Tullberg believes that the opposition, who have just qualified for the DFB-Pokal final, "are among the top five German U19 teams". His boys were already witness to KSC's qualities in the reverse fixture, which was contested with great intensity by both sides and which BVB won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ousmane Diallo.

Despite the difficult personnel situation (in Mussa Kaba and Luca Reggiani, two more key players will miss out), Mike Tullberg is in an optimistic mood: "There are a lot of things going against us, but I'm confident that our young team will be able to hold their own against this opposition, which consists of much older players." Striker Diego Branco from the U17s will reinforce the squad.

Team and coach targeting first place

There is great excitement among the U17s ahead of their clash with VfL Wolfsburg, who top the table with 14 points from six games, followed by BVB (10 points/5 games), Borussia Mönchengladbach (9/5) and 1. FC Magdeburg (6/8). Coach Karsten Gorges stated that the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture "felt like a defeat", following an outstanding performance by his team. "We failed to convert too many goalscoring opportunities in Wolfsburg. I'm hoping for more efficiency in the return match. We want to win this game," said Gorges, under whose leadership the team has undergone a remarkable development. The coach and team want to finish the league phase in top spot in the table.

In addition to Diego Branco, Gorges will be without Justin Hoy, who has suffered another injury. Enzo Duarte dos Santos, who was in the Luxembourg senior squad for the first time last week, returns to the starting line-up.