“A 50-50 game” | OneFootball

Dino Toppmöller is anticipating an evenly balanced match against Gladbach and is counting on the support of Eintracht’s “wonderful fans”.

Cheftrainer Dino Toppmöller on …

…how things stand: “It’ll be a 50-50 game. We’re determined to reach the next round. In order to do so we’ll need the support of our wonderful fans. We want to get to the next round together. We know it’ll be a very tough match. Obviously, we want to make the most of playing at home, but anyone who saw our Bundesliga meeting with them will know that it was a match between two equal teams.”

…personnel: “Other than Kristensen, everyone came through the intense game on Sunday unscathed. Nkounkou is also an option again. With maximum support from our great fans, we want to reach the round of 16 together.”  …Rasmus Kristensen’s absence: “After his injury in Berlin, Junior Dina Ebimbe came on and replaced him perfectly. Tuta could play on the right of a back four in place of Kristensen, with Theate, Amenda or Collins centrally. In a back five or three, we have enough players who are comfortable on the right flank.”

…the lessons learned from the teams’ Bundesliga Matchday 4 encounter: “We have to try and minimise the period we had in the second half. Nevertheless, there will still be phases when Gladbach will be more dominant, and other phases when we’re on top. We’re playing against a team that likes to have possession. When we played Gladbach in the Bundesliga we had some good moments in possession and some good moments on the counter. It’ll be another tight game, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure it goes our way. I’m expecting Gladbach to play in a similar way. They’ll keep trying to put us under pressure high up the pitch.”

…the players’ energy levels going into a midweek fixture: “The games are coming thick and fast - the boys are being called on every three days. I feel a good energy in the group, we have plenty of power.”