Plenty of options, no goals: which HSV striker gets the nod v Köln? | OneFootball

Who will lead the line against 1. FC Köln: Poulsen, Moffi or Daka? Ahead of the crucial clash, HSV coach Polzin revealed his “striker thoughts.”

Talking about your own forwards after a 5-0 thrashing is a pretty thankless task. HSV have just gone through two such debacles in a row. New signing Terem Moffi, who arrived from Nice in the summer, started as the No. 9 against Mainz. In Leipzig, veteran Yussuf Poulsen was ultimately preferred. But he too was able to do little, if anything, inside the opposition box.

Even so, HSV coach Merlin Polzin came away with a positive impression — from both strikers, in fact. Accordingly, at Thursday’s press conference ahead of the match against FC Köln (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.), it was still unclear which of the two would get the nod this time.

All HSV strikers still without a goal so far

“I liked it a lot,” Polzin said about Poulsen’s first start in quite some time. You could immediately see why the coaching staff had opted for him. “He can give the team a certain stability and sense of structure out of possession. At the same time, as a target man up front, he can occupy several defenders and hold the ball up.” He did that well in Leipzig, the coach explained.

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Right afterwards, he admitted that Poulsen is not a player who can start all the time. That has to do with his injury history. Last season alone, the 32-year-old was held back by a torn muscle fiber as well as thigh and ankle injuries. That is why it is important to give him minutes, but also to know “when it becomes too much.”

Moffi not fully fit yet either

Terem Moffi also made a very good first impression, but the same initially applies to him as to Poulsen: he is not yet at 100 percent. Even so, Polzin is convinced that the Nigerian will be a real asset. He brings a lot of things that are “very important for our game,” Polzin explained.

That makes both of them logical candidates for the starting XI. In the first game of the season, by the way, new signing Patson Daka got the start, then came off the bench against Mainz and played just behind the striker in Leipzig. So if Vieira is fit enough to start, the 27-year-old may be left with only a substitute role.

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