Professionals, 5. December 2024
After watching his side beat Regensburg 3-0 in the DFB Cup on Tuesday, head coach Sebastian Hoeneß has quickly turned his attention to Friday’s crucial Bundesliga Matchday 13 encounter with 1. FC Union Berlin (6 December, 20:30 CET). With ninth-placed VfB just a point and two places above their opponents in the table, victory for Hoeneß’s side would keep the pressure on the teams above them in the race for Europe.
“That’s exactly what we have to do – we’ll need to perform to our absolute limit in order to beat a very consistent Bundesliga outfit,” Hoeneß said of a side who have scored ten goals, conceded 11 and registered 16 points in the top flight so far this season. “They have a good, solid structure, don’t give much away and are always capable of causing problems in transition.”
Floodlights and home crowd make up for tired legs
The task facing VfB is a challenging one, but Friday’s game also represents a big opportunity for Hoeneß’s charges. The Cannstatt lads are determined to be as successful as possible in all three competitions this season, and an evening kick-off in front of their own supporters makes the quick turnaround from Tuesday’s DFB Cup tie much more bearable. “We have an opportunity with this home game to get within reach of the European places and put ourselves in a really good position,” added the VfB boss.
Too soon for Jamie Leweling
Jamie Leweling, Daxo Zagadou, Luca Raimund, El Bilal, Deniz Undav and Ameen Al Dakhilare unavailable against Union Berlin.