Our next opponents: Fans to provide inspiration

Ferencváros lost 2-1 at home to fifth-placed Puskas Akademia in the OTB Bank Liga on Sunday night. It was the first defeat in front of their own crowd this season.

Coach Stanislav Cherchesov made six changes to his side compared with the 2-0 defeat in Leverkusen and he rested a number of first choice players. Centre forward Ryan Mmaee, right winger Marquinhos, the midfielders Anderson Esiti and Kristoffer Zachariassen plus defenders Eldar Civic and Myenty Abena all started on the subs bench. At half-time, when Puskas Akademia were already 2-0 up, Cherchesov brought off two other key players in the shape of Adama Traoré and Balint Vecsei. The coach can afford the large-scale rotation as Ferencváros are undisputed league leaders in their domestic league with an eleven-point lead. However, the many changes are obviously a demonstration of which game the Budapest side are fully focused on: the match against the Werkself on Thursday.

tough encounter at the Puskas Arena?

The Black and Reds will not rest on the two-goal advantage from the first leg. On the contrary: The team under coach Xabi Alonso should be prepared for a tough encounter at the Puskas Arena. For 'Fradi', as the capital club in Hungary are known, this is the match of the season. A clash given additional attraction through the venue. Unlike the Europa League group match between the two teams in December 2021, this tie is not being played at the Ferencváros home ground the Groupama Arena. Instead it is being played at the biggest stadium in Hungary. The Puskas Arena, opened in 2019 and named after the former legendary Hungarian captain and great player at Real Madrid, has a capacity of over 60,000 and is also the venue for this year's final in the Europa League. The stadium is the home venue for the Hungary team. Ferencváros played here twice in the group stage of the Champions League in 2020: against Juventus (1-4) and Barcelona (0-3) albeit with a restricted attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ferencvaros still missing key players

Stanislav Cherchesov will be able to call on his rested players for the starting line-up against the Werkself. As in the first leg, the 59-year-old coach will have to manage without some injured players: Central defender Samy Mmaee Is ruled out as is the midfielder and former Hamburg SV player Muhamed Besic plus the two strikers Tokmac Nguen and Owusu Kwabena. In addition, defender Endre Botka, who scored in added time on Sunday to make it 2-1 against Puskas Akademia, will be watching from the stands on Thursday as he is serving a one-match ban.

Ferencváros are looking for even more commitment in the second leg to make up for the personnel problems. And, of course, the support of their own fans who came to the BayArena in large numbers to support their team. After the first leg in Leverkusen, sporting director Tamás Hajnal said: "Two goals appear a bit too much but we feel that there was more in this game for us. We thank our fans for the support we received here in Leverkusen. It's not impossible to achieve a brilliant result at home. I'm sure that our fans with a full house at the Puskas Arena will help inspire us." For Hajnal, a former Bundesliga player (including at Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund), Leverkusen were the "clear favourites" before the Round of 16 tie. The 42-year-old is convinced of the quality of his own team even with his assessment of the opposition. "We stand out through great confidence, speed and players who can decide a match on their own."

In the first leg, an early strike from Kerem Demirbay (10’) and the late headed goal from Edmond Tapsoba (86’) after the thunderous shot against the post by Adam Hlozek bookended a game with relatively few chances where Bayer 04 deservedly left the pitch as winners.

"the second game will be different"

For captain and goalkeeper Denes Dibusz it is clear: "The second game will be different and we will have to play in a different way. The key will be to take the lead." Kristoffer Zachariassen, who missed the best chance in Leverkusen with a shot against the bar, is optimistic above all due to the performance in the second half. "We played well after the restart and I thought the last two thirds of the game were really good but the result is disappointing.

The Green and Whites will probably do all they can to make a better start to the game with the aim of achieving the "brilliant result" at the end of the game.