Hütter: “We need to be at our absolute best”

Head coach Adi Hütter and sporting director Max Eberl spoke before the DFB-Pokal tie against FC Bayern München on Wednesday (20:45 CEST).

Head coach Adi Hütter on...

...team news: Apart from Stevie Lainer, who has been back with us since Monday, Christoph Kramer and Tony Jantschke, everyone is available for Wednesday. Marcus Thuram could also play a part. He has strengths that can be a threat to any opposition. Matthias Ginter is fit again and will most probably start tomorrow. All other team news will be revealed before the match.

...the injury to Tony Jantschke: Unfortunately he was involved in a collision in training on Sunday and suffered fractures to his face. He has already undergone surgery and I hope that he will return as soon as possible, but such an injury needs time, of course. I can’t imagine that he will be back in action before the turn of the year so it will probably be that he is available again for the second half of the season.

...Ramy Bensebaini’s fitness:  After being out injured for a week, Ramy is obviously not yet back to full match fitness. In Berlin, however, he played well in a three at the back and also managed a lot of running. He is an option for the DFB-Pokal fixture, though he could play in a different position.

...what was learnt from the league game against Bayern: We had very good phases in the league game, but Bayern are now playing at a different level to how they were at the start of the season and are the best team in the world at the moment. It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but in the cup it’s all about getting through to the next stage, and that is our goal. We have played very well at home so far and want to be courageous and take the game to the opposition. Bayern are the ultimate team to take on and fight against. We need to be at our absolute best, be brave and have the belief in ourselves to win the game.

...the team’s current situation: I hope that the team reacts to the game in Berlin in the same way as they did after the 1-0 loss against Augsburg, which they followed up with a 1-0 win over Dortmund. We’re defending well at the moment and not giving away many chances, which will be crucial tomorrow evening. Even so, we will have to be even more focused and alert because Bayern are on another level. We have to offer more going forward, however, if we want to trouble FC Bayern.

Sporting director Max Eberl on...

...the chance to progress in the competition: The fact that we have never knocked Bayern out of the cup should not mean anything, as there is a first time for everything. We have always performed well against Bayern in recent years. We have to be switched-on defensively and be ready to fight and leave everything out there. If we do that, I believe we can beat them.