Visiting Wuppertaler SV: BVB U23 chasing first win of the new year | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund II’s start to the new year did not go quite as hoped last weekend, with a 1-1 draw at Stadion Rote Erde against Sportfreunde Lotte. On Saturday (kick-off at 2 p.m.), coach Daniel Rios’s team wants to do better and secure their first three points after the winter break in their match against Wuppertaler SV.

Wuppertal stumbled out of the winter break two weeks ago with a 0-1 home defeat to SSVg Velbert and did not play last weekend due to the postponement of their away game at SV Rödinghausen. Now, the WSV, coached by former professional Mike Wunderlich and currently sitting in 15th place, is hoping for points against BVB and an end to their eight-game winless streak, from which they have only managed to collect two meager points.

Rios wants to avoid falling behind again

BVB’s U23 will have to do without their captain Tony Reitz, who is suspended due to yellow cards, as well as the injured or sidelined Felix Paschke, Prince Aning, Mussa Kaba, and Pharell Kegni. However, the three winter signings Leroy Kwadwo, Mario Pejazic, and Kevin Mutove, all of whom were substituted in against Lotte, will be available again. Whether any of them will make the starting eleven this time, coach Rios has not yet revealed.

What is clear to the BVB coach, however, is that the opponent should not be underestimated despite their dry spell: “We are aware of the situation in Wuppertal, but we don’t believe we can just take three points there easily. Especially at home, they will try to win their fans back,” said Rios, who wants to “improve a few things compared to the game against Lotte” and elaborated further on the club website: “We don’t want to be chasing a deficit again. Taking the lead is always good, especially at the start of the year. The key is to make sure the final pass gets through and that we create more chances on goal.”

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