For many, it is certainly the game of the year. After the draw away at Hertha BSC, none other than Bayern Munich are up next at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Saturday afternoon (3:30PM CET). Before the match against the German record champions, head coach Thomas Reis answered journalists’ questions as usual.
Thomas Reis on…
… the personnel situation: Simon Zoller, Manuel Riemann and Paul Grave are not available. Our number 1 tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday afternoon. Tjark Ernst will replace him in the squad. All other players are ready for action.
… the return of Eduard Löwen: It was important that Edu was able to complete a full training session after leaving quarantine. However, he is not yet at 100 percent, and he can’t be after such a short time. I hope that he will be in top shape for the game on Saturday.
… the use of Michael Esser: Bruno is our clear number 2. He is experienced enough and has already replaced Manu brilliantly away at Augsburg, for example. He’s always at the top level in training and has a very, very good character. With him, we have a great second goalkeeper who we can trust at any time. He will certainly get a little bit of work on Saturday and can show himself accordingly.
… the anticipation of the game: A game against Bayern should simply be fun. We want to show that we have developed compared to the first leg. We have waited eleven years to be able to compete with them in the Bundesliga at Castroper Straße. I’m glad that we can welcome at least 8,500 fans.
… Bayern Munich: They have incredible quality in their ranks. Bayern is an absolute top team, perhaps the best team in the world at the moment. We will try to stand up to them. The guys will give everything. We know that Bayern stands tall and defends very actively. This could create spaces that we want to exploit.
… the goal of staying in the league: We’ve got 25 points so far, and we’re very happy about that. We are aware that we will not win home games like against Bayern and Leipzig by a large margin. Our goal is clearly to stay in the league, i.e. to finish at least 15th. We will give everything to achieve this.
… the safety precautions for the pros: In the two weeks following the positive tests on a couple of players, we have again revised the cubicle layout. The guys arrive just before the session, we also test ourselves privately, we stay vigilant. We take great care to reduce contact – even within the changing room. Masks are always worn. But, you can’t completely prevent it.
