Beşiktaş
MKE Ankaragücü
Paris SG
B. Dortmund
On Saturday afternoon (15:30 CET), FSV Mainz 05 undertake their final Bundesliga game of 2022. Eintracht Frankfurt are the guests at the sold-out MEWA ARENA this weekend and they have been in fantastic form heading into this Rhein-Main-Derby, currently sitting in fourth place with 26 points. The Zerofivers (18 points), on the other hand, want to prioritise forgetting all about the performance against Schalke in mid-week. “It was disappointing, but we’ve moved on and we’re focused on Eintracht Frankfurt,” said Bo Svensson during his press conference ahead of the game. “We didn’t offer much of what distinguishes us on the pitch against Schalke and, above all, we want to give everything we’ve got into this final game before the winter break,” the head coach continued.
After a convincing first double-game week in October with wins against Werder Bremen and Lübeck as well as against FC Köln, the Zerofivers have come away empty handed in their last three consecutive games. Bo Svensson has focused on the performances on the pitch from the games above all else. While losing to Bayern Munich can always happen, the performance a week later – a unfortunate 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg – was decent. Only the performance against bottom of the league Schalke was disappointing across the board, emphasised Svensson. “What’s demanded here should be clear to see on the pitch. It was visible against Wolfsburg, but not against Schalke. It’s got something to do with our principles and our identity. Those core values and that feeling you get when you see us play are the essential factors for us.”
It’s got something to do with our principles and our identity
These things happen and it’s just part of football that you can head home empty handed despite putting in a good performance. Against Frankfurt, a side that has qualified for the Champions League round of 16, FSV will need to two things: alongside the basic that the coach always demands from them, they will also need a bit of luck, something that was missing for them against VfL Wolfsburg.
Eintracht Frankfurt the complete package
“There’s a lot in store for us on Sunday. Frankfurt are in the last 16 of the Champions League, they play convincing football and, in my opinion, have the second-best attack in the league. It’s a very high quality team that we’ll be facing on Sunday,” warned Svensson. In the final 90 minutes of 2022, his team is expecting the complete package of Bundesliga class: “Frankfurt are full of individual quality across the board. They have pace and a great ability to transition. They have different types of players who are able to play in all sorts of positions. Their variety is what makes them so difficult to defend against,” said the 43-year-old, who can draw on the same squad as last time.
The variety of their game is what makes them so difficult to defend against
The self-critical manner in which his side dealt with their defeat against the Royal Blues, however, has made Svennson optimistic that they will be able to say farewell to the home crowd for this year with a convincing performance. Although the head coach doesn’t want to acquit his players of the specific expectations they also have of themselves: “The pressure is there: we have to perform because we don’t want to have that feeling again like we had sitting in the dressing room after the game against Schalke. We’ve got something to prove, and that’s important to me,” said the head coach, who after only one home win so far this season and three draws and two defeats, is only too keen to celebrate with the Zerofivers fans one last time this calendar year.
On Saturday afternoon (15:30 CET), FSV Mainz 05 undertake their final Bundesliga game of 2022. Eintracht Frankfurt are the guests at the sold-out MEWA ARENA this weekend and they have been in fantastic form heading into this Rhein-Main-Derby, currently sitting in fourth place with 26 points. The Zerofivers (18 points), on the other hand, want to prioritise forgetting all about the performance against Schalke in mid-week. “It was disappointing, but we’ve moved on and we’re focused on Eintracht Frankfurt,” said Bo Svensson during his press conference ahead of the game. “We didn’t offer much of what distinguishes us on the pitch against Schalke and, above all, we want to give everything we’ve got into this final game before the winter break,” the head coach continued.
After a convincing first double-game week in October with wins against Werder Bremen and Lübeck as well as against FC Köln, the Zerofivers have come away empty handed in their last three consecutive games. Bo Svensson has focused on the performances on the pitch from the games above all else. While losing to Bayern Munich can always happen, the performance a week later – a unfortunate 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg – was decent. Only the performance against bottom of the league Schalke was disappointing across the board, emphasised Svensson. “What’s demanded here should be clear to see on the pitch. It was visible against Wolfsburg, but not against Schalke. It’s got something to do with our principles and our identity. Those core values and that feeling you get when you see us play are the essential factors for us.”
It’s got something to do with our principles and our identity
These things happen and it’s just part of football that you can head home empty handed despite putting in a good performance. Against Frankfurt, a side that has qualified for the Champions League round of 16, FSV will need to two things: alongside the basic that the coach always demands from them, they will also need a bit of luck, something that was missing for them against VfL Wolfsburg.
Eintracht Frankfurt the complete package
“There’s a lot in store for us on Sunday. Frankfurt are in the last 16 of the Champions League, they play convincing football and, in my opinion, have the second-best attack in the league. It’s a very high quality team that we’ll be facing on Sunday,” warned Svensson. In the final 90 minutes of 2022, his team is expecting the complete package of Bundesliga class: “Frankfurt are full of individual quality across the board. They have pace and a great ability to transition. They have different types of players who are able to play in all sorts of positions. Their variety is what makes them so difficult to defend against,” said the 43-year-old, who can draw on the same squad as last time.
The variety of their game is what makes them so difficult to defend against
The self-critical manner in which his side dealt with their defeat against the Royal Blues, however, has made Svennson optimistic that they will be able to say farewell to the home crowd for this year with a convincing performance. Although the head coach doesn’t want to acquit his players of the specific expectations they also have of themselves: “The pressure is there: we have to perform because we don’t want to have that feeling again like we had sitting in the dressing room after the game against Schalke. We’ve got something to prove, and that’s important to me,” said the head coach, who after only one home win so far this season and three draws and two defeats, is only too keen to celebrate with the Zerofivers fans one last time this calendar year.
