Just ten days on from the 2-0 DFB Cup win at Hannover, the Wolves face their Lower Saxony rivals again on Friday (kick-off: 20:30 CET). This time around, it is a Bundesliga match in which Labbadia's side would be only too happy to continue their recent positive derby record and sign off ahead of the international break on a high. In his press conference on Thursday, Labbadia discussed ...
… the personnel situation: "Admir Mehmedi hasn't been able to train this week so he won't be available for the game at Hannover. Josuha Guilavogui has joined in with parts of training and we'll have to see how he develops over the international break. Daniel Ginczek and Paul Verhaegh have problems with the muscles in their neck. Paul-Georges Ntep keeps getting stiffness in his muscles, which has also prevented him from training this week. Thankfully Renato Steffen has been pretty much fully involved. Obviously he still feels his shoulder but he can cope with the pain. We'll have to see whether he can play."
… the chances of ex-Hannover man Felix Klaus featuring: "It's always good when a player wants to play straight away, but it's almost seven months to the day since he last played a game. My policy is always to build players up to a point when they can then play seven or eight games in a row – unless you really need them."
… the 2-0 DFB Cup victory at Hannover: "We played very well at Hannover and were very solid. Nevertheless, you saw that Hannover can always be a threat. It'll be a game of fine margins. It's obviously unusual that we're playing against Hannover again just ten days later. We can therefore carry over some of the preparations from the last game, although Hannover will have changed some things. It's down to us to produce a similarly solid and efficient display again."
… the significance of the match: "I think you should go into every match with the mindset that a lot can be achieved, not just in terms of league position but also mentally. Of course, it's always nicer to go into the international break with a win, but in general you can't take any games for granted in the Bundesliga."
