“Maximum discipline” | OneFootball

Dino Toppmöller on the tough task of facing Leverkusen, personnel news and his determination to consolidate sixth place.

Dino Toppmöller on ...

…his objectives: “No team has managed to beat Bayer Leverkusen this season. That’s a nice, big motivation for us all. We’re all aware it’ll be a very, very tough game. Anyone who watched their match away to AS Roma on Thursday will have seen confirmation of their fantastic performances this season. They’re a big hurdle to overcome, but we want to push them to their limits. We’re not going into the game thinking that we’ll be satisfied with a draw. We know it’ll be difficult, but we’ve set ourselves the aim of winning this home game. We’ve got a good idea of how we want to play, and the boys are fresh and fit. We’re going into it full of confidence. The key will be to have maximum discipline in terms of our defensive shape.”

…Eintracht’s home record against Leverkusen: “Eintracht’s home record against Leverkusen in recent years [five consecutive victories] speaks for itself. That could be a factor over the course of the game. We want to put them under pressure straight away, but our opponents also have the quality to free themselves from that pressure. But we also know that Leverkusen will be a completely different team here on Sunday. They’ve built up a huge amount of self-confidence over the course of the season. It’s up to us how we start the game and keep our opponents on their toes.”

…personnel: “Everyone is available other than Sebastian Rode and Sasa Kalajdzic who have long-term injuries, and Nnamdi Collins, who has inflamed the capsule in his knee” …Hugo Larsson: “He’s definitely an option for the starting XI. I had the feeling he wasn’t at 100 percent in recent weeks. Mario Götze and Ellyes Skhiri have done very well recently, but it’s always a consideration to bring in an extra central midfielder and change the system a bit. We’ll see how we set things up on Sunday.”

…the European places: “Everyone knows now that the Bundesliga will have a fifth Champions League place for the coming season and that this will affect other competitions. Our only aim is to consolidate our current position. We’ve got a difficult game ahead of us on Sunday, but also a good opportunity – with our fans behind us and the historical fact that Leverkusen have always struggled here. We’re doing everything we can to make sure we finish sixth.”