Head coach Adi Hütter and sporting director Max Eberl spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s Bundesliga home game against VfL Bochum (17:30 CEST).
Head coach Adi Hütter on…
...the squad: The lads mainly did some regenerative training today. Aside from Jordan Beyer, who will be out for a while, there are no changes personnel-wise. Jordan’s injury is a real shame for him, but also for us because he’s played well recently. Apart from him, Christoph Kramer and Stefan Lainer, everyone else is available.
…the performance in the Pokal against Bayern: There wasn’t a single player that I wouldn’t be able to single out for praise from Wednesday. The attackers will obviously get more of the praise in a 5-0 win, but the defenders were equally as impressive. Keeping a clean sheet against Bayern is a real achievement. Everyone played brilliantly in my opinion.
…possible changes to the starting XI: It’s obviously a normal idea to think about playing the same team because of all the confidence they picked up. However, Ramy Bensebaini for example has played two full matches inside a few days after a long injury break. We will definitely need to consider that. It’s definitely possible that the side will look a little different on Sunday.
…the sporting situation: We all know that we need to start picking up more points in the league to move up the table. Our next chance to do so is on Sunday, and we want to carry the momentum on from the cup game, but we're aware that we're up against a very different opponent.
…the upcoming opponents: VfL Bochum are on the right track. They play dynamic and athletic football, and won’t just sit back having already won three games this season. We need to cover a lot of ground on Sunday, get stuck in and bring our footballing qualities to the fore. Bochum will be an unpleasant opponent, but we should have enough confidence after the Bayern game to beat them – we will need to put a lot of hard work in to do that though.
Sporting director Max Eberl on…
…the relegation play-off in 2011: It’s nice to face VfL Bochum again 10 years after the relegation play-off. That success for us back then kicked off a successful decade of development for us. Looking back, it was a very important game in the club’s history.
…VfL Bochum’s development: I’m pleased that they’re back in the Bundesliga. Their development has been really impressive. Even though not many people are still at the club from my time as a player there, I’ve still followed their progress closely. They’ve got a clear plan and clear ideas. They deservedly won promotion and they’re doing well so far in the Bundesliga too.
…the upcoming Bundesliga game: After the brilliance of the Bayern match, we need to concentrate on our day-to-day business in the Bundesliga and perform against the supposedly weaker teams. We need to back up our great performance against Bayern after all the praise we deservedly received.
…Nico Elvedi’s development: Nico Elvedi has played with incredible composure and consistency for months. He often goes under the radar as a defender, that's why I wanted to highlight his amazing performance on Wednesday night against Robert Lewandowski.
