The appeal of an exciting competition

Hannover 96 preview
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Maximilian Eggestein will return to the city of his birth for the Pokal game (Photo: nordphoto).
preliminary report
Tuesday, 22.12.2020 / 17:24

The DFB-Pokal is a “really exciting competition” for Florian Kohfeldt, with each game being described as “make or break.” At the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Werder’s head coach revealed ‘I like it when games mean a lot.” As a result, knockout games, like in the DFB-Pokal, are particularly appealing to him. “One side will be left in the competition after this game and we want to be that team” – the 38-year-old has a simple aim ahead of Wednesday’s game (20:45 CET).

The squad: Davie Selke, Milot Rashica and Niclas Füllkrug will all have to wait until the New Year before they can make their comebacks. Füllkrug, just as Maximilian Eggestein, would have hoped to appear in the city of his birth, but will miss the game as he continues to work on his recovery. Leonardo Bittencourt, who also missed the Mainz game, is unavailable again. Florian Kohfeldt gave Ömer Toprak the all-clear for the Hannover 96 match, confirming he will make the squad.

 

Accept the role as favourites

The head coach on the game: Florian Kohfeldt doesn’t want to experiment on Wednesday night. “We will put out our best possible team so that we can win this game – we are desperate to reach the next round.” The head coach is also aware of Hannover’s strengths: “They are strong on the break, can play with a number of different systems, have quick wingers and press well once losing possession.” Nevertheless, the Werder coach is happy to assume the role as favourites going into the game. “Hannover have a lot of Bundesliga experience in their squad, but we are still the favourites and we will go into the game as such.” The 38-year-old prefers to go into a game as the favourites, as that means his team can influence the game better. “We need to be very active on the ball and be compact at the back once we lose the ball.”

The last match between the sides: Almost exactly 15 years have passed since SV Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 last met in the DFB-Pokal. The game was held in Hannover on 21/12/2005. Frank Baumann, now sporting director at Werder, was on the pitch that day. The match took a while to get going, but it turned out to be an eventful affair. Naldo scored the first goal of the game in the 71st minute, before Torsten Frings (83’, pen), Hanno Balitsch (89, own goal) and Aaron Hunt (90’) added more for the Green-Whites; it finished 4-1 to the away side. The last fixture between the sides in any competition wasn’t long ago. The last derby fixture in the Bundesliga was on 19/1/2019 in the HDI Arena, with Theodor Gebre Selassie and co. securing a 1-0 win for the away side. Hannover are popular friendly opponents for Werder – the two sides have run out against each other seven times in the last two years.

Northern derby for the eighth time in the DFB-Pokal

Niclas Füllkrug will miss the game against his hometown club (Photo: nordphoto)

The first round: There were plenty of goals in the first round of the DFB-Pokal – especially from Hannover’s perspective. Kenan Kocak’s men beat fellow 2. Bundesliga side Würzburger Kickers 3-2. The result is a little misleading, as both Würzburg goals came after 90 minutes. SV Werder comfortably beat FC Carl Zeiss Jena 2-0. Josh Sargent put Werder in the lead (49’), before Tahith Chong scored his first competitive goal for the club in the 88th minute.

Unbeaten after 90 minutes: Werder have played against Hannover 96 a total of seven times in the DFB-Pokal, and SVW haven’t lost after 90 minutes in any of them. Werder won five without needing extra time. In 1980, a replay was required after a 5-5 draw, and the Green-Whites came out on top. The only defeat came in 1992, when Hannover won 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

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