“Our results up to now have given us a certain self-confidence,” said head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo on Wednesday. “We know that we can hurt a lot of opponents if we push ourselves to the limit. To do that we need to always give it our all and perform as a unit. The current league table is only temporary so we’re not paying any attention to it. Our only motivation is to put in a good performance.”
While the VfB boss has seen his team earn seven points from their four league outings so far, he is determined not to be complacent against a Köln side yet to win this season (one draw, three defeats), saying: “They have a lot of experience in their squad, and they’ve got an experienced coach too. We’ll go into the game with respect for the opposition.”
Two doubts, quartet return
Wataru Endo (adductor muscle) and Gregor Kobel (back) have been unable to train with the rest of the squad recently. “We hope both of them are able to return to full training in time and that they can both be available for Friday,” said Matarazzo.
The 42-year-old coach will however definitely be without Waldemar Anton, who is not yet 100 per cent fit after his ankle ligament strain, and Konstantinos Mavropanos, who has undergone successful surgery on a knee injury. Erik Thommy is also still unable to take part in full team training and will not be in the squad to face Köln.
On a happier note, Roberto Massimo, Borna Sosa, Darko Churlinov and Tanguy Coulibaly have all been able to participate fully after recovering from injuries of their own.