Our next opponents: Oldie power at Fortuna

Position

A dip in form overcome, a gap established to a direct rival, who were also outclassed plus an impressive display: Last Sunday night certainly went according to plan for Fortuna Düsseldorf. F95 sealed a 3-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart at home and are now a comfortable ten points ahead of the Swabians, who the play-off position of sixteenth in the Bundesliga. That was certainly not a given for Fortuna – above all, against the background of Düsseldorf being bottom-of-the-table in the middle of December before the team went on a run of four wins in succession. Possibly due to this rapid change in fortune, the coach Friedhelm Funkel is keen not to overestimate the current points tally and twelfth place. “Your'e not very likely to go down with 25 points already in the bag,” said the coach at the press conference after the win against Stuttgart. One way or the other: Since last week, Fortuna have been able to focus on the now very achievable mission of staying up in the Bundesliga. Funkel's team lost 4-1 away to Schalke 04 in the DFB Cup.

Personnel

Funkel's preferred tactical approach is a 4-1-4-1 formation but he often adjusts his line-up according to the opponents. A new, and yet old, constant in the system of the oldest coach in the Bundesliga (65): Midfielder Oliver Fink (pictured above with Funkel), the second-oldest outfield player in the Bundesliga at the age of 36. The skipper missed the first ten games of the season due to injury but has succeeded in regaining a place in the team and has not only stood out recently as a key performer and leader but also as a goalscorer. His brilliant curler to make it 2-0 against Stuttgart was a candidate for 'Goal of the Month'. As with the coach, there was discussion about whether he would call it a day at the end of the season or extend his contract at Fortuna again. Now it appears, in both cases, that the headline about Fink in this week's Kicker hits the nail on the head: 'Too good to stop'. Funkel and Fink – oldie power at Fortuna. Another person joined this select group in January: Düsseldorf brought in goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny from Werder Bremen and the 39-year-old could be the oldest keeper in the top-flight this term if he makes an appearance in the Bundesliga. The Czech played in goal twice for Schalke in the DFB Cup this season but Funkel has kept faith with Michael Rensing in league fixtures. The other new signings in the winter break joined Fortuna on loan: The Polish striker Dawid Kownacki came in from Genoa and the Austrian left back Markus Suttner from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Problems

Drobny was also signed to provide competition for the number one shot-stopper Rensing. The keeper, who made four appearances Bayer 04 in 2012/13, has not always looked convincing recently and his two fellow goalies Raphael Wolf and Tim Wiesner are sidelined with long-term injuries. Now Drobny is supposed to put pressure on Rensing – at the same time, it would not be fair to blame the keeper for all the 39 goals conceded so far this term, the fourth-highest total in the top flight. The players in front of him have too often given too much away against teams that combine well.

Potential

The farce surrounding Funkel's contract extension took the shine off the good results on the pitch in the winter. One thing is certain: The experienced coach will be at the helm at Düsseldorf next season. A new era will start after that in the North-Rhine Westphalia state capital. There was also a change in senior management in December: Globetrotter Lutz Pfannenstiel is the new sporting director at Fortuna and, in the future, he will be responsible for ensuring Funkel's success over the past three years continues with Düsseldorf established in the Bundesliga. The preconditions are there even if the many loan signings and the retirement of Funkel bring permanent changes of personnel.

Prediction

Funkel brings with him the required experience and necessary mentality. Düsseldorf appear to be solid enough to achieve the big target of staying up – that could happen with games to spare given the current ten-point gap. Although: In their previous Bundesliga season in 2012/13, Fortuna were apparently safe at the same stage of the season but they did not won another game after the middle of February and they ended up being relegated to the second division. That should not happen this season with an established coach like Funkel in charge.