'Not as many chances as in the home game'
The Werkself head for Sinsheim on the back of three wins on the bounce. Bayer 04 play TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at the PreZero Arena on Saturday 1 February (kick-off: 15.30 CET).
The game at the BayArena earlier in the season ended all square at 0-0 but the stats were clearly in favour of the Black and Reds: 75 per cent possession, 20 shots on goal, 19 corners. "But I'm not expecting us to have as many chances as we did in the home game. Therefore, we’ll have to make better use of them," said head coach Peter Bosz at the pre-match press conference.
In order to achieve the desired improvement in converting chances, Bosz has, in the training sessions over the past few days, "placed great value on working on moves in the final third of the pitch. We have a lot of players with great ability in this area. That makes me confident we can improve our conversion rate in the future as we did in the home game against Düsseldorf (3-0, ed.)."
"progress at TSG"
The Dutchman also praised our next opponents in the press conference ahead of the game. Hoffenheim have made progress since the first meeting in August. The team coached by Alfred Schreuder secured wins against Borussia Dortmund and away at FC Bayern (both 2-1). "Analysis shows that they have achieved very good results above all against teams in the top half of the table," said Bosz before concluding: "As I reckon we are also in the top half of the table, it won't be an easy game for us."
Lars Bender on board
Bayer 04 captain Lars Bender missed several training sessions last week to give him a rest. The defender was back in full training this week and he will be available for selection in Sinsheim. That means the only players missing are midfielder Charles Aránguiz (muscular injury) and winter signing Exequiel Palacios who is currently suspended.
"Very talented"
Head coach Bosz also talked about new signing Florian Wirtz who has been brought in by Bayer 04 from the youth section at FC Köln. The Dutchman on the U16 international: "He is still very young at 16 – but very talented nonetheless. I'm happy to work with young talents and to help him build a great career."
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky (TV) and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Oberasbach)
Tickets: 650 Werkself fans travelling to Sinsheim. Tickets are available on the day from 13.30 CET at the ground.
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