U23s to kick off season against Wiesbaden | OneFootball

The Borussia Dortmund U23s will travel to SV Wehen Wiesbaden for their first match of the season. Kick-off at the BRITA Arena is on Monday (25 July) at 19:000 CET.

The sense of anticipation for the new season is palpable among the Black & Yellows after six weeks of pre-season preparations. The foundations have been laid ahead of the side's second season in the 3. Liga following promotion in 2021. As in previous years, the team put in hard work at training camp in Kirchberg/Tyrol (2 to 11 July). The performances and results over the five pre-season friendly matches have been very promising (three wins, two draws). The final dress rehearsal was a 1-1 draw with Dutch top-tier outfit RKC Waalwijk. All signs point to BVB being ready to go in Wiesbaden: "After such a long pre-season, everyone is happy that it's finally time to get started. The boys have been working well as a team and that's why we're all happy that the league is kicking off," said new coach Christian Preußer.

The 38-year-old coach has taken over on the sidelines following the departure of Enrico Maaßen to FC Augsburg. Preußer previously worked for the U23s of SC Freiburg, among others, who he led from the fifth to the third tier. Dortmund is his fourth station overall as head coach. In his own words: "This is simply the coolest club in Germany. There is incredible strength here. In addition, BVB have a reputation for quality in the youth teams. We play in the 3. Liga. All of these factors made me decide to come here.''

In addition to the Berlin native, there are several other new faces at BVB, with a total of ten new arrivals bolstering the playing squad (plus six internal recruits from the U19s). Among them are young talents like Prince Aning (18, from Amsterdam's youth set-up) and Jayden Braaf (from Man City's U23s), but also seasoned players like Michael Eberwein, who knows his way around both the 3. Liga (107 games/24 goals) and Dortmund, as he represented the Black & Yellows between 2015 and 2018. In Eberwein's words: "I'm happy to be back here. I want to use my experience to help the team and take on responsibility."

The attacking midfielder and his colleagues will try to fill the gap left by the departures of offensive players like Immanuel Pherai (Eintracht Braunschweig), Richmond Tachie (SC Paderborn) and Berkan Taz (Waldhof Mannheim), who between them were responsible for 22 of the team's 51 goals scored last season.

Upcoming opponents Wiesbaden have been comparatively quiet on the transfer market. Six new players joined the team, while six left. The side led by coach Markus Kauczinski will therefore be relatively well-versed in playing with one another. "I expect a very mature, physically sturdy team. I think they want to finish in the top third. That's why it will be a tough match for us to get started with," said Preußer.

The Hessians finished last season in eighth place (51 points), closely followed by BVB, who finished ninth (49 points). The head-to-head match-ups were as close as the final standings would suggest. SVWW took home all three points from Dortmund with a 3-2 win at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, while BVB won 1-0 away at the BRITA Arena. The strong away record in the past season was a major factor in Borussia's impressive points tally; the Black & Yellows notched up 31 of a possible 49 points on the road. The first of ten away wins came on Matchday 1, with a 2-1 triumph in Zwickau. No-one at BVB would object to a similar start this time around.