05.02.2010

Matmour sidelined

Borussia coach Michael Frontzeck will be without Karim Matmour for the difficult trip to Mainz on Sunday.

"Unless something happens during the final training session Karim will stay at home and do some recovery training," said Frontzeck in summary of his private conversation with the striker, who has just returned from the Africa Cup. Matmour is healthy, but lost substance during the four-week tournament and is not set to resume full training until after Sunday's match (kick-off: 1530 CET).

"Mainz are a force at home," Frontzeck told journalists at today's press conference. "They have conceded the lowest number of goals on their own ground, are still unbeaten at home and are a very organised side, as we saw in the reverse fixture, which we deserved to win, though it was very close," explained Frontzeck, who intends to wait until after tomorrow's final pre-match training session before naming his squad. Raul Bobadilla is still struggling and will be selected only if 100% fit. "I'm not prepared to take any risks," said Frontzeck. The Argentine striker was forced off with a muscle problem against Bremen.

Totally different game than against Werder

Sunday's game will be very different to last week's clash with Werder Bremen, as Borussia's last three results in Mainz show: 0-3, 0-3, 1-4! These scorelines and this season's statistics have ensured tension levels have remained high during training this week. "Mainz are justifiably very confident because they're getting an almost perfect return from the resources at their disposal. We need to find a mix between our attacking showing against Bremen and our defensive performance in Berlin – and we're very well prepared," said Frontzeck after what has been a good week of training.