The hallway that leads to the catacombs at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto is an imposing one, with a series of photographs chronicling historic matches from the league, cup and Europe that have taken place at this legendary arena.
VfB head into their showdown at FC Porto on Thursday (kick-off 21:00 CET) determined not to allow the Portuguese club to add another picture to their gallery just yet.
After a narrow 2-1 defeat in the first leg of the teams’ UEFA Europa League last-16 tie, VfB are in a tough position, but by no means a hopeless one. Indeed, that is precisely what makes the match such an enticing one: will the boys from Cannstatt book their ticket to the quarter-finals?
“We need a well-balanced display”
“The very fact that we could go through to the last eight is motivation enough,” said a focused Sebastian Hoeneß. “This game and the evening as a whole won’t be ‘business as usual’. The buzz is already palpable.”
The 43-year-old wants his team to play with balance: “The first leg is still very fresh in our hearts and in our minds. It’ll take everything a knockout match demands, along with a well-balanced display from us. Porto are having an exceptional season, so their style isn’t likely to change much in the space of a week.”
Vagnoman back
There was positive news on the personnel front for VfB, with Josha Vagnoman set to return to the squad after recovering from injury. Jamie Leweling, by contrast, is a doubt after suffering a muscular reaction following the 1-0 home victory over RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Sunday evening. Lazar Jovanovic is definitely absent as he continues his recovery from injury.