Just three days after the 6-1 defeat by FC Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the She-Wolves return to action in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. On Sunday 30 March, they host SGS Essen at the AOK Stadion from 18:30 CEST on Matchday 18.
In his pre-match press conference, VfL head coach Tommy Stroot spoke to the media about…
…personnel: “As things stand, we expect Marina Hegering to be available to play against Essen. With Kathy Hendrich we need to have a closer look, but currently it doesn’t look like she’ll be fit in time.”
…preparation for Essen: “The girls who played [against Barcelona] will do recovery work today. Those who didn’t or only played a bit will be on the pitch instead. Tomorrow we’ll have a final training session adapted to the workload, where we’ll prepare in detail for Essen.”
…the league run-in: “Our first task is SGS Essen and we want to win the match. Clearly we want to clinch second place for direct Champions League qualification. We’re aware the picture can change every week. Frankfurt still have to play against Bayern and Hoffenheim, while we ourselves play against Hoffenheim and Leverkusen. It’s going to be an interesting programme and in the end it’s about coming through it with more points than Frankfurt and Leverkusen.”
…the opponents: “Essen are a team who are always developing, and it’s a place where talented youngsters can find their way. I think the announcement that head coach Markus Högner is leaving the club in the summer means there's quite a lot going on at the moment. You can tell that things aren’t coming to them as easily as they did last season, when they got into a flow. Generally, though, Essen are a team who have individual quality and a certain tempo in attacking positions, and always defend with a certain mentality.”
