“Stable, compact, aggressive and intense” | OneFootball

Dennis Schmitt on upcoming opponents Leverkusen, personnel news and Eintracht’s approach for the game.

Following the midweek meeting with Tottenham Hotspur, Eintracht return to Bundesliga action on Saturday when they host Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Deutsche Bank Park on Matchday 20 (kick-off 15:30 CET).

At the pre-match press conference, caretaker coach Dennis Schmitt spoke about …… preparations for Saturday: “We gave the boys Thursday to recover because they put a lot into the game against Tottenham, which is underlined by the match data. We took a step forward in terms of being compact and working against the ball. We need to defend set pieces well, and defend well in general in all areas of the pitch. And we need to find better solutions so that we can create danger in front of goal when we regain possession or when we’re on the ball. Our final training session was good in that regard. On the whole, I think every session has got better since we started working together. We’ve addressed every issue and the expectation now is to take the next step.” … the opposition: “Leverkusen have a good team and they come into this one having beaten Villarreal in the Champions League. I worked with Aleix García in Belgium. He’s one of a lot of really good players they have. There’s also [Patrik] Schick as a target man, and [Alejandro] Grimaldo is extraordinary at set pieces. We’re ready for that.” 

… Eintracht’s approach: “We’ve shown over the past three games that we’ve taken steps forward in terms of our work against the ball. We’re flexible in that regard as we can press high or sit in a low block. We want to keep that going to remain stable, compact, aggressive and intense. If we do that, it’ll be tough to play us. We might field a more attack-minded line-up, but we might keep things as they were on Wednesday. We’re keeping our options open.”… team news: “As things stand, everyone who has been available recently is still available. I’m not going to say who’s coming in or out, but we’ve definitely got more options than we had during the week. That gives us optimism.”

… Rasmus Kristensen: “I know from first-hand experience that a face mask is a bit of a hassle because it restricts your field of vision and it’s harder to breathe. But Rasmus Kristensen is in great shape, he’s an important leader for us and is someone who leads by example. He gives his team-mates and the fans in the stadium the feeling that things are going to happen.”

… how things stand: “We’re aware of how important the game is. We want to take a big step forward by playing well. That’s the main focus. We’re looking forward to Saturday.”