“We want to play tidy football” | OneFootball

Eintracht boss Dino Toppmöller on the confidence he has in his players, the fitness of Michy Batshuayi and Elye Wahi, and Robin Koch’s replacement.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller on …

… the evening kick-off in Mönchengladbach: “It’s a primetime clash and I hope it lives up to its billing. Both teams like to go forward and want to play tidy football. Floodlit games in Mönchengladbach are special. We’re feeling good, we’re unbeaten in the Bundesliga in 2025 and want to remain so.” … Borussia: “Since playing Mönchengladbach twice early on in the first half of the season, their development has been outstanding. They have good patterns of play and are a really strong footballing side. I watched their game against VfB Stuttgart live on the sofa and was impressed with their performance. It’ll be a tough nut to crack against a team who are in form right now.”

… Robin Koch’s absence: “Tuta will take on the role of Robin Koch. Aurèle Amenda is not yet fit enough to start, he still needs a bit more time to get back up to speed.”

… Michy Batshuayi and Elye Wahi: “Elye has had two sessions with the team, was carrying a minor injury before that and didn’t play much in Marseille. We’re patient with him and will see what happens in the final training session. We’ll have another chat then. I’d obviously like to have him in the squad. Michy is in a different rhythm and a bit further ahead physically at the moment. He has a good chance of playing his first minutes in an Eintracht shirt. Generally speaking, we should give both lads a bit of time, because they’re getting used to a new club, new team-mates and a new way of playing.”

… an alternative approach: “We’re not going to completely change our philosophy of playing our way towards the penalty area, but there are always situations when it’s sensible to swing in a few crosses, particularly against deep-lying opponents. It’s not necessarily about making sure the first ball reaches its target, but about creating uncertainty in the box and forcing the odd lucky goal. It’s an approach we should be using more often and one which we’ll be working on in training in the coming weeks.”