Farke ahead of #BMGFCU: "Have to take on the physical challenge"

Head coach Daniel Farke and sporting director Roland Virkus spoke to the media on Friday after of the Foals’ upcoming Bundesliga home match against 1. FC Union Berlin (Sunday, 23th April at 19:30 CEST). We have rounded up the key statements.

Daniel Farke on…         

…team news: Nico Elvedi was able to train today and will be available. Alassane Plea had tonsillitis, but was also able to train with the team today. The infection has knocked him back a bit, but there are still 48 hours until the game. We will have to wait and see if he will be an option for the squad. Yvandro Borges Sanches won't be part of the squad. He's completed parts of team training, but we need to take things slow with him still. Tobi Sippel suffered a cut on his forehead in training yesterday that required stitches. He'll be out for a few days.

…Union Berlin: Union are delivering consistently good work. After their promotion they’ve done better in the table year after year. Also, the current table doesn’t lie. Union are in the Champions League places and deserve to be there. The team’s development is remarkable. They have a deep squad, and play with a lot of physicality, power and dynamism. It is very difficult to play against them. Their high levels of passion and commitment make them stand out. We know what to expect, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

…the difficulty of the task at hand: We were very close to taking points with us from the reverse fixture. The deciding goal was in the seventh minute of additional time. We know what to do in order to be successful. We need a good, concentrated performance, have to take on the physical challenge and play well on the day. This will be the key to being in the running to get the points.

…more options in central midfield thanks to the return of Julian Weigl: I’m happy that there is competition for places in this position and that we have a lot of options. This week of training has done Jule Weigl good after his comeback in Frankfurt. It is important overall that the boys have to prove themselves. Looking at the starting eleven, hopefully we’ll make the right decision.

…the style of play the Foals have adopted in the past few games: The exact way that we play and defend is always dependent on the opponents. Against Frankfurt, for example, it was important to shut off central space in front of the defence, that a few crosses more then sail into the penalty area is completely normal. Nevertheless, I think that we defended well. All in all, we have put in good defence performances recently, even if there is always room for improvement. Being solid defensively is always the basis to build on and what we had planned before the season at least. We’re really on the right track with this.

Roland Virkus on…

…squad building this summer: I think it is important to rejuvenate the team and bring in some new energy to become more successful as a team regardless of the opponents.

...the kick-off time on Sunday: I can understand every fan who is annoyed about the kick-off time on Sunday evening. We are also in conversation with the DFL on this topic more generally, but the topic is much more complex than most people think.