Following the 5-0 victory over Galatasaray in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, VfL Women visit third-tier league leaders Mainz on Saturday evening. Kick-off at the Bruchwegstadion in Mainz is at 17:00 CET.
At his pre-match press conference, head coach Tommy Stroot spoke about…
…the personnel situation: “Jule Brand is unfortunately sidelined. That aside, as well as long-term absentees Kristin Demann, Camilla Küver and Caitlin Dijkstra, also out are Lena Lattwein with muscular problems, Merle Frohms with mild cold symptoms and Luca Papp. Sarai Linder is also getting a rest because of her high workload with the Olympic Games in the summer.”
…the opponents: “The club are very ambitious. We’ve obviously watched one or two of Mainz’s games and they certainly always try to ask questions in attack. But it’s clear who the favourites are: we’re travelling to Mainz to ultimately reach the next round of the cup and to do so not just with a win, but also in the right manner.”
…the busy schedule: “It’s obviously a factor. We again have the shortest possible gap between two matches, which is why we’re looking ahead a bit, as we’ve done with Sarai, with deliberate adjustments and the odd change compared to previous games.”
…the She-Wolves’ winning run: “Our goal is to claim a sixth win in six games. That would make it a perfect block between the two international breaks. Of course, we also want to extend our run of cup wins.”