Ahead of #TSGB04: “Every player has my trust”

Julian Nagelsmann on...

... the opposition.

“Heiko Herrlich is doing at very good job in Leverkusen. I rate him as a head coach even though I don’t know him on a personal level. He’s achieved a lot as a player, person and coach. I enjoy reading his interviews and I think Leverkusen are one of the best teams in the league which the coach obviously plays a big part in. They are aggressive, attacking and play risky football. They want to decide games in their favour. In the first half of the season, in my eyes, they were the best team we faced. If we want to win on Saturday, we have to keep possession and defend much better than we did before.”

... team news.

“Nadiem Amiri will rejoin training on Thursday – possibly Kevin Akpoguma as well. However, it’s too soon for them to feature against Leverkusen. We also will have to do without Kerem Demirbay. Lukas Rupp and Dennis Geiger missed a training session this week but most likely will be able to play. Gregor Kobel has been suffering with a cold for the past week. He simply isn’t well.”

... the game.

“It’ll be a tough game between two sides next to one another in the table but they have greater expectations than we do. As the game is so early in the second half of the season, it won’t be decisive. Our strikers are all performing at a similar level in training. In Bremen, one did far better than the other three which is why I was critical. If I wasn’t critical, that’s worse for the player as it suggests I don’t think they can help us. Criticism only happens when a player’s recent performances don’t adhere to their usual standards. I’m convinced of the quality our strikers have. They have my trust just like every other player. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t be a part of the squad. Andrej Kramaric, for instance, has trained very well this week as he always does. He and Steven Zuber have put in extra work on the training ground.”

Previous clashes

TSG have won two of their last three against Leverkusen and are unbeaten against the Werkself since August 2015. However, in total, the head-to-head record sways firmly in the favour of the guests with 13 wins compared to TSG’s 3 alongside 3 draws. Last season’s1-0 win was TSG’s first Bundesliga home win against Saturday’s opponents. 

The opponents' form

Heiko Herrlich’s side lost their last game 3-1 to table toppers Bayern Munich. However, Leverkusen ended 2017 in red hot form. Prior to their loss last Friday, the Werkself had been unbeaten since matchday five and rose from 14th to 5th in the table.

The key battle

It’s difficult to name only two players to battle one another when TSG face the likes of Bayer Leverkusen. Especially as we are unsure of either player will start but Mark Uth vs. Kevin Volland shall be an interesting duel if it takes place. Two German strikers who know each other from their time together at Hoffenheim. Uth has nine goals and two assists whereas Volland has ten goals and one assist.

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