There’s a real sense of satisfaction in the VfB camp after reaching the DFB Cup final, having battled for 120 minutes against SC Freiburg in the last four on Thursday night. Nevertheless, attention quickly shifted back to the Bundesliga the next day as Sebastian Hoeneß’s men prepare to welcome SV Werder Bremen to the MHP Arena on Sunday 26 April at 15:30 CEST, where they’ll be hoping for another success in one of the classic fixtures of German football.
Sebastian Hoeneß: “Need full intensity”
It will be the 114th meeting between Stuttgart and Bremen in the Bundesliga. Only Bayern and Bremen (118 matches) as well as Bayern and Gladbach (116 matches) have faced each other more often in the league’s history. For the Cannstatt club, there’s another reason why this encounter has a historic dimension: it will be VfB’s 1,000th Bundesliga home game. Cause for celebration? Hopefully.
“Against a side who are battling for survival and will therefore give it everything, we once again need full intensity in our play in order to produce a good performance,” said Hoeneß. His team certainly pulled that off in the reverse fixture, winning 4-0 in Bremen.
Jeltsch ruled out
Because of their progression to the DFB Cup final and their position in the Bundesliga table, VfB are already guaranteed at least qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Hoeneß’s charges remain ambitious and hungry for more, though. “We’re in the final of the DFB Cup and have already qualified for the Europa League,” said the 43-year-old. “We’ve therefore completed two important intermediate steps and now we can focus fully on playing in the Champions League next season. We want to get another step closer to that target against Werder Bremen on Sunday.”
Hoeneß will again be without defender Finn Jeltsch, who’s still sidelined by the abdominal muscle injury he sustained in the away match in Munich last weekend.
