“Trust in our own qualities” | OneFootball

Ahead of the trip to Leipzig, Dino Toppmöller discusses team news, the aims for Sunday and the Eagles’ strong season so far.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller on …

… the state of play: “It’s the Bundesliga, it’s a different competition. We can put the Europa League to one side for this calendar year – there we’re in a position that we’d very much like to be in at the end of the league phase. We’ve done our job. Now it’s onto Leipzig. We’ve won four and drawn one of the last five Bundesliga matches, we fully deserve to be in second place in the table. I want to see that confidence from my team on Sunday. We’ve played really well in the league in recent weeks, which can also be seen in the results. I want to see us approach these matches against Leipzig and then Mainz with the same trust and confidence, plus the same desire. This match is a big chance for us and we should see it as a chance, not as a duty. We can round off a really good first half of the season in the next four league games and we want to start with that on Sunday. We want to establish ourselves up there, which is a big source of motivation and energy for us. We all hate losing – we go to bed and wake up with that feeling.”

… the team news: “Tuta unfortunately won't be available. Hugo Larsson is back. With Can Uzun, I'm proud of his development, he's put a lot of effort in and shown that he can help the team. He's also in contention to start tomorrow.”

… the quick rematch against Leipzig after the DFB Cup defeat: “The last game [against Leipzig] wasn't long ago. I think there's still a bit of anger there, which we should convert into the right energy so that we don't lose our heads.”

… Can Uzun: “I’m proud of his development and his mindset, the way he’s coped with this period, which hasn’t been easy and has certainly been a bit harder than he’d imagined. But he’s kept working, stuck at it and never lost belief in himself. This is the reward for the effort he’s put in over the past weeks and months. He’s shown in the last two matches that he can help the team.”

… Oscar Højlund: “He’s match-fit, we’ve brought him on in previous matches. The final decision hasn’t been made yet, we want to wait and see how he’s doing.”