U23s hoping to keep up good run at home to Aue | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund's U23s have gone two games unbeaten, and won 5-0 away to VfB Lübeck last weekend. They'll be looking for another win on Saturday, when they host Erzgebirge Aue (kick-off 14:00 CET), who still have hopes of achieving promotion.

BVB personnel: BVB captain Franz Pfanne, who has just extended his expiring contract by two years, is missing due to a yellow card suspension. In addition to the long-term absentees Tiago Estevao, Abdoulaye Kamara, Lion Semic, Felix Irorere and Prince Aning, Jermain Nischalke is also ill. BVB coach Jan Zimmermann has a youngster in the squad on Saturday in Paris Brunner from the U19s, who celebrated his 3. Liga debut in the away game in Essen.

Head-to-head record: The U23s' last and to-date only win against the Violets was more than 20 years ago. Back then, under head coach Horst Köppel and with players such as David Odonkor in the squad, BVB ran out 3-2 winners at the Rote Erde. Last season, the young Black & Yellows lost 1-0 at home in the first game, but managed to snatch a point in a spectacular 3-3 draw in the second. The reverse fixture in Aue this season ended in a 2-0 defeat for BVB.

Facts and stats on the visitors: The Saxons are one of the four best teams at home this season, with 35 points, but have only won three games on the road. Aue's last four away games have ended without a win, but they have never dropped out of contention for promotion. The visitors will be without their top goalscorer, Marcel Bär, on Saturday. Bär scored both goals in the reverse fixture. Ramzi Ferjani, a former U19 German champion with BVB, will be making his return to Dortmund. With 44 goals scored, the West Saxons have been relatively mute on offence, while their defence has been stable, with 43 goals conceded.

Outlook: For the visitors, the focus is on keeping their chances of promotion alive. BVB have been full of confidence and played good football in recent matches. Now the Black & Yellows want to build on the positive momentum from their recent performances (a 5-0 win in Lübeck and a 1-1 draw against Ingolstadt) and increase their points tally. Coach Jan Zimmermann explains: "After the recent good games and the emphatic win in Lübeck, we naturally want to take our confidence and momentum into the home game against Aue." The coach expects "a very compact and experienced side that still reckon they have a slight chance of promotion. We will have to push ourselves to the limit again in all areas in order to pick up points." Should Michael Eberwein manage to score twice, he would join Marvin Ducksch atop the all-time scoring charts for the Dortmund U23s.

Kick-off in the Rote Erde stadium is scheduled for 14:00 CEST. The stadium ticket office opens at 12:30 CEST. Tickets are available in the BVB Ticketshop.

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