Stindl: “Derbies are always games with a special feel” Borussia’s captain Lars Stindl talks about the...

SV Werder will start the training week ahead of the home game against Bayer Leverkusen with some players missing. Captain Marco Friedl, Romano Schmid and Christian Groß will not be out there with the team due to illness. Milos Veljkovic and Dikeni Salifou will return to training, however, and Niklas Stark will take part only partially in the team training after recovering from his illness.

Our place in the league is secured, the miracle became a reality. It is still hard to believe what VfL have achieved this season. This Friday night (kick-off at 20.30 CET), VfL Bochum 1848 welcome Arminia Bielefeld at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion. For the team from East Westphalia, there is still a lot at stake as they are currently 17^th in the table. In the run-up to the last home match of the season, head coach Thomas Reis answered the journalists’ question at the press conference.

After the game away at TSG Hoffenheim, FC Augsburg had their third home game of the season. There were emotional scenes before the match, as the club said goodbye to long-serving player Jan Morávek. FCA would have to wait further for a first home win of the season though, falling to a 2-0 defeat against Hertha.

While the Spanish press tittered over this apparent disrespect, Bayern went out and dominated the group — going a perfect 5-0-0 and clinching first place with one Matchday to spare. That has delighted the team and fans alike.

“We thought long and hard about how we would go up against Bayern,” explained head coach Christian Streich after full-time. “The team did a lot of  good stuff off the ball, we made life difficult for Bayern and had the right gaps between our players. I’ve lost so often in Munich, I think we can be allowed to win this one here!”

When the boys train at Schenckendorffplatz, it is inevitable that their eyes will turn to the Olympiastadion itself. At the beginning of the week’s training, it wouldn’t be surprising for images of playing just there to run through the minds of a Hertha player here or there. “Obviously, there is a lot of anticipation for the game with the fans behind us right over there. We want to work hard to reinforce the last few home results against FSV Mainz,” confessed Maximilian Mittelstädt. On Tuesday, preparation began for the clash with the Zerofivers (11.03.23, 15:30 CET).

Hertha have won their last two home games in a row. The Blue-Whites would like to extend that run to three with the upcoming home game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday (11.03.23, 15:30 CET). This will be no easy task though, with the Zerofivers having won three straight games, making them one of the most in-form teams in the Bundesliga. The game also has special significance for head coach Sandro Schwarz, who was not only born in capital of Rhineland-Pfalz, but also spent 15 years at the club both as a player and as a coach. “They are a team that is very aggressive, defend well, are prepared to put in lots of running and sprints and play simple football. We are expecting a competitive game. I enjoyed a very intense time there, because of that I am looking forward to the game and seeing lots of familiar faces,” explained the 44-year-old looking forward to the upcoming game in his matchday press conference. herthabsc.com has summarised the key points, as Schwarz spoke about…

Pellegrino Matarazzo on… … Mainz 05: “Mainz are a team that have started the second half...

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