Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo on…
…personnel:
“Wahid Faghir, Naouirou Ahamada and Silas will all be isolating until 9 January due to their coronavirus infections. Mateo Klimowicz is set to return from Argentina tomorrow. Konstantinos Mavropanos is already out of isolation and is working his way back, but he’s obviously still short of training time. He’s unlikely to be an option for the game against Fürth. Atakan Karazor is having problems with his metatarsal again – he’s a doubt for the weekend.”
…a potential start for Sasa Kalajdzic:
“Sasa is feeling surprisingly well – we’ll see if it’s enough for him to play 60 minutes. It’s definitely a possibility but it’s not certain yet. He is on the right path, however. We still have one more day of training, so we’ll see to what extent he gets his fitness back. Sasa will definitely be in the squad tomorrow, at any rate.”
…the importance of making a good start to 2022:
“Every start is important – and the first match of the second half of the season is a new beginning for us. It’s important that we start the second half of the campaign with good energy, a good performance and a good result. We’ll do everything we can to win the game. If we produce a performance and play to our limits, we can pick up three points away from home.”
…the relegation battle:
“You always feel the pressure, but I always see it as an opportunity to perform under pressure. We want to pick up points and give our all. We go into every game looking to give everything and get points on the board. I’m up for the second half of the season and so are the players. We want to go on the attack.”