"Kill the atmosphere early": Polzin reveals HSV's plan against Köln | OneFootball

For HSV, the match against 1. FC Köln in the promoted teams' duel is about crucial points. In addition to a strong opponent, the Rothosen are also expecting a lively atmosphere.

When Hamburger SV visits the Rheinenergiestadion on Sunday (3:30 PM, DAZN), head coach Merlin Polzin anticipates a heated and especially electrifying atmosphere. However, the 34-year-old aims to neutralize it deliberately. "For us, it will mainly be about nipping the stadium's atmosphere in the bud and thus creating the conditions for a pleasant football afternoon for us," Polzin explained at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

The conditions for this are excellent, as the coach expressed satisfaction with the current personnel situation: "Warmed Omari is out, that's known. Otherwise, things look very good; I assume I will have all players available in the final training session." The squad depth that has grown over the summer provides the coaching team with additional options: "We can once again make many personnel decisions because we can choose from a very high quality."

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HSV meets its favorite opponent

Simultaneously, Polzin also focused on the upcoming opponent, whom he observed in the stadium against FC Bayern during the week. "We do not expect the same team as on Wednesday in the cup. Lukas (Kwasniok) always finds ideas and approaches for the different opponents." Accordingly, the HSV coach expects a compact, tactically flexible opponent: "It will be about finding the right solutions with the ball."

Regarding the atmosphere in Müngersdorf, Polzin relies on his team's calmness and stress resistance. "Cologne is a club with a lot of heart and passion," said Polzin, "we know they will demand everything from us."

On a positive note: Last season, HSV secured a solid six points against the Cathedral City team. In the first leg, they triumphed away with 2-1, and they won the return match in front of their own fans with 1-0.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.