The performance in the 1-1 draw at TSG Hoffenheim last Sunday was certainly a step in the right direction for VfB, who fashioned numerous opportunities to come away with all three points. The next step for Sebastian Hoeneß’s side, however, is to start converting those chances into goals – something which has been high on the agenda in recent days. “We need to become more efficient again,” Hoeneß said ahead of Friday’s visit to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich (kick-off 20:30 CET), where VfB’s ability to put away the chances they create will be key.
“We have enough players in the squad who can score and create goals – the lads have shown and proven that often enough,” added the VfB boss, who is relishing the prospect of facing Bayern under the lights. After all, Hoeneß’s side have been performing well lately in terms of their overall play, while the standard in training this week has also impressed the head coach.
‘We’ll need to perform at the highest level’
The challenge facing Hoeneß’s players is to replicate that on the pitch against a Bayern side who hold a comfortable eight-point lead at the top of the table – and whose quality is beyond question. “We’ll need to perform at the highest level and with great focus for 90 minutes,” he continued. “We want to face Bayern with a passionate, courageous display and a really good performance.”
Hoeneß feels his side are gradually regaining some of their freshness on the back of several weeks with midweek fixtures, mainly due to VfB’s participation in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. They now have more time to train, recover and work on certain areas in greater detail – which will ideally start to pay dividends against the record German champions at a sold-out MHP Arena.
Leonidas Stergiou ruled out
There will be at last one change from the Hoffenheim game after Leonidas Stergiou suffered a heel injury in Sunday’s 1-1 draw, ruling him out of the trip to Munich. Hoeneß did not reveal who will replace the defender in his starting XI on Friday, but the head coach will definitely be without injured quartet Ameen Al-Dakhil, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Nikolas Nartey and Luca Raimund.