Battle for the top spot: BVB women host 1. FC Köln U21 | OneFootball

The scenarioBorussia Dortmund's women gained the necessary confidence ahead of their top-of-the-league clash last week with a 4-0 away win against the U23 of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Coach Markus Högner said about this dominant performance: “Throughout the whole 90 minutes, we delivered a solid performance, conceded virtually no scoring opportunities, and scored some terrific goals.” Following their recent successes, the head coach is pleased that this top clash against the club from Cologne is scheduled just before the winter break: “After that, we will know where we stand.” The match will determine who will be leading the Regionalliga West at the turn of the year. Thanks to a better goal difference (64-8), the currently second-placed BVB women (three points behind) could take over the top spot of the table for the first time since the start of the season if they win, relegating the Cologne women to second place (54-16).

Personnel mattersAfter missing the game in Leverkusen due to tendonitis, Ann-Sophie Vogel was partly able to start team training again this week. Markus Högner expects that both she and Nora Willeke, who was out with a cold for a couple of days, will be part of the selection again this weekend.

The oppositionMarkus Högner describes their upcoming opponent as a team “that never gives up, with a very good mindset, that can even turn a game around in the final minutes of the match.” Especially the combination of young and more experienced players, such as Lydia Andrade, who brings Bundesliga experience, make Köln “a very strong side, that is currently winning a lot of games”. Of their 14 matches in the Regionalliga West, the Cologne women have won 12. They only dropped points against SGS Essen's U21 (3-3) and DJK Wacker Mecklenbeck (1-2 defeat).

Reunion of former DFB coaches  Markus Högner attributes the success of the Köln youth team to their very good coach whom he knows very well: Verena Hagedorn, who won the European Championship as a player in 2001, worked alongside Högner as assistant coach of the DFB women's team in the 2016/17 season.

The match on Saturday 6 December will be played on Matchday 15 of the Regionalliga West. Kick-off is at 11:00 CET in Rote Erde Stadium. Tickets are available in the Online-Ticketshop (standing: €3 Euro, seats: €5). As usual, the match will be broadcast live and free of charge on Pluto TV.