“We want to live in the moment”

Hamburger SV travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday (15:30 CEST) on matchday 32 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The Rothosen are looking to take a decisive step towards securing their place in the league against the side currently seventh in the table. HSV head coach Merlin Polzin revealed on Thursday afternoon (30th April) at the pre-match press conference which players will be available and what his expectations are for the match and the final stretch of the season. The Hamburg-born coach spoke in detail about…

…the squad: Philip Otele won’t be in the squad due to suspension. Miro Muheim is also unavailable due to injury. Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit has suffered a minor setback in training and we now need to wait and see how things develop. Right now, it doesn’t look as though he’ll be back in time for this weekend. Otherwise, things look good: Luka Vuskovic, Yussuf Poulsen, Jean-Luc Dompe and Albert Sambi Lokonga are all back in team training and are options to make the matchday squad. Luka has made good progress and is pain-free. Given that he was out for a while, we won’t make any hasty decisions. We’ll wait for tomorrow’s final training session and will then decide whether he’s an option for our squad. We need to find a smart solution here that benefits everyone. Yussi and Jean-Luc were also sidelined for a while. Our style of play requires certain qualities which, to be honest, they haven’t quite got yet. At the same time, both have given it their all to be able to help the team in the final games of the season again. As a team, that gives us plenty of positive vibes – we can sense that everyone is doing everything in order to help the club achieve its goals. 

…the opponent: We’re up against a team that played in the Champions League with this squad. Additionally, they have also managed to achieve some big things over the last years and have really pushed the club forward in a cool way. We can take inspiration from that. They also still have a lot left to play for, even if they’re working towards different goals to us. They will be sure to give it everything. I’m looking forward to a very intense match in an atmospheric stadium with lots of noise from the away fans – hopefully with a positive result for us. 

"Pressure is a privilege, and we’re looking forward to using it to our advantage.“

…the match plan in Frankfurt: We want to see a HSV team that tries everything they can in order to win the game. That doesn’t just apply on matchday, but also that we put in the work in training, that we’re prepared for what we’re up against. We want to live in the moment, in order to take advantage of the momentum we have. It’s not about what was, or what will happen. So far, the team and the coaching staff have done well to implement that. We will do some fine-tuning tomorrow still in terms of tactics in order to put in the best possible performance. We want to see effort in defence, fight, a desire to protect our goal and to not give up any ground. I also expect us to find solutions with the ball in order to pose problems for the opponent. 

…pressure in the season run-in: All of us at HSV – the team, coaches, backroom staff and management – are all excited for what May and the season run-in will bring. When the season begins, you’re in a t-shirt and shorts. Then comes autumn and winter, where you need to wrap up warm, and now we’ve come full circle again. We’re full of energy and power and are ready to leave it all out there in order to achieve our goals. We’re prepared to leave it all out there. Pressure is a constant thing in the Bundesliga and that’s how it should be. The question is, how do you deal with the pressure? Pressure is a privilege, and we’re looking forward to using it to our advantage.