Delayed start for BVB U23 with new faces, hosting Lotte | OneFootball

After last week’s away match at Sportfreunde Siegen had to be canceled due to weather conditions, Borussia Dortmund’s second team will kick off the new year with a slight delay this Friday, hosting Sportfreunde Lotte at home. The match at Stadion Rote Erde will begin at 7:30 PM.

Instead of the match in Siegen, BVB’s U23 played a last-minute friendly against Türkspor Dortmund last weekend and won 2-0. But that’s not the only reason coach Daniel Rios is optimistic going into the game—he also remembers the 5-3 victory in the first leg. Defensively, however, Rios, who was then still assistant coach to Mike Tullberg, wants to present a more stable performance this time and warns about the opponent on the club’s website: “If they get space and can transition quickly, they’re dangerous. It would help us a lot if we control the game. If things get wild, that could be to Lotte’s advantage.”

Mussa Kaba ruled out

Compared to the fall, the BVB U23 squad has changed significantly. While David Lelle (Aris Limassol), Ben Hüning (Rot-Weiss Essen), Antonio Foti (SC Verl), Jordi Paulina (Fortuna Düsseldorf), and Marcel Johnen (Sportfreunde Siegen) are no longer with the team, the new signings Leroy Kwadwo (most recently without a club), Mario Pejazic (MFK Kosice), and Kevin Mutove (VfB Eichstätt) could make their debuts.

Additionally, Samuele Inacio and Mussa Kaba—two top talents still eligible to play for the U19s—are set to gain more Regionalliga experience, although the latter will have to sit out against Lotte due to injury, as will Pharell Kegni. Long-term absentees Felix Paschke and Prince Aning also remain sidelined.

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