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20.08.2021Bundesliga

Seoane ahead of #B04BMG: Stand firm and find offensive solutions

The first home game of the 2021/22 season is around the corner. On Saturday, 21 August, Gerardo Seoane's team take on Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena in the top match of the day. The kick-off is at 18.30 CEST (live on Sky, on Werkself Radio and live text commentary at bayer04.de). The head coach is hoping for the return of two players on matchday two, as he revealed at the pre-match press conference, and he also talked about two new signings.

Florian Wirtz has recently been sidelined with muscular problems. "His pain has completely disappeared. He just needs to build up a bit of strength around his lower back but at least he completed the full pre-match training session today," explained Seoane who believes the youngster may play some part in the game.

And with Jeremie Frimpong, who complained of slight groin problems during the week, there is also hope that he may feature. "Jeremie was able to join individual parts of training over the past two days. I'll speak to the physios and consider whether he might make an appearance."

Andrich and Hincapie possibles for squad

The head coach named the two latest new signings as an option for the matchday squad. "We’re happy we were able to sign Robert Andrich and Piero Hincapie this week. Both players bring more solidity and physical power to our squad. It's possible both of them might be in the squad on Saturday," declared Seoane. While Andrich has trained with the squad since the start of the week, Hincapie only joined full training on Friday after a period of quarantine on entry to Germany.

In addition to personnel changes, there is also a development with the Werkself and Seoane believes there will be a difference on the pitch on Saturday in comparison to last week's game at Union Berlin. The 42-year-old is expecting in Borussia Mönchengladbach "a different opponent. Gladbach will be more physical and press higher up the pitch. They will put us under more pressure. I expect much more resistance than in Berlin." He has prepared his team to be ready to stand up to the pressure, "but also find solutions with more penetration particularly in the final third."

The BayArena will be sold out on Saturday evening with the maximum permitted crowd of 15,105. HERE is information for the fans on access to the stadium. The Schwadbud is to remain closed for home games for the time being – as an alternative there is the open-air beer garden 'Liga 20' opposite the BayArena.

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