Merlin Polzin: “We’re expecting a real challenge”

After enjoying a euphoric comeback victory in the derby against Werder Bremen, the Rothosen are looking ahead to matchday 14 of the Bundesliga season and a Saturday afternoon clash away at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, with the ball set to roll at the PreZero Arena at 15:30 CET. The Baden-Württemberg outfit are up there with the league’s best, both defensively as well as in their attacking play, and currently occupy fifth place in the table. The matchup is therefore far from an easy task for head coach Merlin Polzin and his squad, who will be cautiously aware of the home side’s strong record in Sinsheim alongside HSV’s own mixed form on the road this campaign. Hamburger SV will be buoyed in this respect by the prospect of 12,000 to 15,000 away fans making the trip down south this weekend, who will hope to have as much of a decisive influence on the atmosphere as possible. In the press conference ahead of the 21st meeting between the sides in the Bundesliga, Polzin shared his thoughts on all these topics, speaking at length about...

...the latest squad update: Warmed Omari, Robert Glatzel and Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit will all miss the trip through injury. Both Omari and Glatzel have recently been able to start training with the ball on the training pitches again, and so from where we are now, we’re hopeful about the new year. Nicolai Remberg is suspended, so he won’t be involved, and Manu Pherai has been unable to train over the past few days, as he’s just become a father. With him, we’ll have to wait and see as to when he’ll be an option again. Daniel Elfadli and Yussuf Poulsen will both be with us in Sinsheim. We needed this extra week with Daniel in order to get him fully up and running again and at a level where he can be involved on the pitch. It wouldn’t make any sense, though, to put him straight in the starting XI. That’s not the case with Yussi. He’s totally fit and ready to play, he’s able to play more minutes this week than he was against Werder.

...Saturday’s opposition: TSG Hoffenheim have a really young squad, with a lot of potential, quality on the pitch and intensity clear to see amongst the ranks. They are always able to make the day uncomfortable for the opponent, a lot of the game is played in transition when you’re up against them. That, paired with the quality and experience of a number of individual stars across multiple positions, means we’ve got an intense test up ahead of us. We’re expecting a real challenge, and we’ve, of course, been thinking of a few different ways in which we can cause problems for the opponent.

“The expectation for the team and for us all is to not just travel around Germany on a sightseeing tour, but to go away to teams and be successful.”

...the role of Jonas Meffert: With Meffo, the ‘only issue’ is that the boys who started ahead of him early on in the season have been performing at such a high level. I’m always communicating closely with Meffo in regards to this issue. He recognises that, and it only serves to highlight the extent to which he’s a leader and an integral part of this team. Even if other guys are playing really well in his position, he raises the level of his teammates through his performances in training, his availability and his minutes off the bench. What sets him apart has been evident over a very consistent period of time in recent years – he brings a serious sense of control to the team and to the relationships across the pitch, which will be really important for us this weekend. I'm glad that we’ve got him as an option to replace “Rambo.”

...an away record with room for improvement: If it can feel like a home game, which I’ll bet on being the case, when I think of how many of our fans will be there in the stands, then that’s already a good sign for us. It was always clear to us that we needed our Volksparkstadion to be a real fortress, and that we had to create magical moments at home if we wanted to keep our place in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, the expectation for the team and for us all is to not just travel around Germany on a sightseeing tour, but to go away to teams and be successful. We are hungry to pick up points to bring back to Hamburg.