In the 2-2 draw against Aue last weekend, Borussia Dortmund's U23s set a new club record: no BVB U23 team had previously hit the 50-point mark in the 3. Liga. On Saturday, the Black & Yellows will travel to Grünwalder Strasse in Munich to face a tough opposition in TSV 1860 Munich. 

BVB personnel: Coach Jan Zimmermann's team have put in several strong performances in recent games, and were able to hold their own against Aue despite the absence of top scorer Ole Pohlmann and captain Franz Pfanne. Pfanne has served his yellow-card suspension and Ole Pohlmann is expected to return from the first-team squad. Paul Besong, who is returning to form after his injury lay-off, received his fifth caution against Aue and will be absent in Munich. The Black & Yellows are travelling to the south with the wind in their sails: the U23s have recently gone three consecutive games without defeat and set a new record for a BVB team in the 3. Liga with 50 points. This betters the previous record from two years ago, when Pohlmann, Papadopoulos, Pfanne & Co. helped the Black & Yellows notch up 49 points.

Stats and facts on the opposition: The Lions are still in relegation trouble. In the past eight games, the team from Munich have only won once: at home against Viktoria Köln at the beginning of April. With three matchdays to go, 1860 are only five points ahead of Hallescher FC in the first relegation spot. That said, the Bavarians have shown in recent weeks that they can more than hold their own against the top teams and have in some cases been very unlucky to drop points.

In Leroy Kwadwo, the Lions are missing a regular who has played in 30 league games this season. The left-back was shown a red card for the second time this season in the recent away game at SpVgg Unterhaching.

The Bavarians are defensively solid and have one of the best records in the league, with only 38 goals conceded. Only Ulm and Regensburg have conceded fewer goals. In attack, on the other hand, they have been a little underwhelming, with the ball only finding the back of the net 38 times. Only Freiburg, Lübeck and MSV Duisburg have scored fewer goals.

Head-to-head record: The overall record is even, but the most recent meetings have gone clearly in BVB's favour.  After a draw in October 2022, the Black & Yellows have since won 4-1 in Munich and 3-0 at home in Dortmund under coach Jan Zimmermann. The only time the Black & Yellows have failed to score against 1860 was in the 2021/22 season, after achieving promotion. The last game at the Grünwalder Stadion was a high-scoring affair: the impressive 4-1 away win in the spring of 2023 is likely to live long in the memory of players and fans alike. Ole Pohlmann shone from the start for BVB, scoring twice in the first 15 minutes, before Bjarne Pudel and Abdoulaye Kamara put the result beyond doubt.

Outlook: For the home side, it's all about staying in the league on Saturday, whereas BVB can play with freedom after a record-breaking season. The Black & Yellows will be looking to pick up more points and continue their winning run in Munich. A crowd of 15,000 is expected again on Saturday for a 14:00 CEST kick-off. It's not every week that the young BVB side play in front of such a large crowd.