…ABOUT THE MATCH

We’re heading into our next few games with the aim of building on our last performances, and are feeling confident that we can come out on top in our penultimate home match of the season. I think it’s crucial that we go into every game with the intention of winning.

…INJURY REPORT

Jens Stage has completed his red card suspension, and both Niklas Stark and Isak Hansen-Aarøen are now potential options. It's good that I'm having to make difficult decisions regarding the squad again. Whatever happens, we’ll be happy with both the XI that start the game, as well as with the boys who will come off the bench.

…OPPONENT

They’re good on the break and have a lot of pace up front. That’s why it’s even more important that we try to eliminate mistakes from our game. Defending their set-pieces will also be a challenge – we can follow the example we set in our own box last weekend against Augsburg. These are problems that the opponent can cause us, so we need to make sure we’re on our A-game too. They’re a side that have a lot of quality, even though they’ve not got the results to show for it recently.

...INJURY REPORT

Tony Jantschke, Max Wöber slight muscle fibre tear in the thigh, Grant-Leon Ranos, Simon Walde, Shio Fukuda and Christoph Kramer are not available. All other players trained completely or partially on Thursday and are eligible for the squad. Last weekend, Tomáš played from the start again after a long time and used his speed to create three or four good situations. Of course he now needs a rhythm in order to be able to show his best side again. Manu has been training all week and is well on his way back. He is an important player for us because he has a completely different profile than the other players in this position. Manu brings a lot of dynamism and acceleration, which is good for us.

..MATCH SYSTEM

We have recently tried to focus more on defensive stability in order to give the opponent less space and allow fewer scoring opportunities. We just wanted to gain more control without the ball, but also with it, to get a certain stability. However, the system is constantly changing. For example, whether we play with a four-man or five-man chain is more of a detail.

...ABOUT THE MATCH

We want to be defensively stable, defend in a disciplined manner and manage to bring aggression onto the pitch. We also want to play forward more actively. Recently, especially in the home game against Union Berlin, we didn't do enough offensively. We have to be braver again in Bremen, act more than react and try to provoke mistakes from our opponents. We go into the game with this mindset.

…OPPONENT

Bremen have clear processes and are currently appearing very confidently. The way they play is very difficult to play. It will definitely be a very intense game in which we have to be there from the first minute. But we're looking forward to the match and I hope we can show our best side.