Dramatic duel in Elversberg: Lautern visit the URSAPHARM Arena
SV Elversberg are heading into their match against 1. FC Kaiserslautern with plenty of confidence. To Horst Steffen, a game against their neighbours is definitely ‘something special’.
On Saturday, SV Elversberg once again have a second division encounter with a little bit more excitement than usual in store: at 1 p.m., SV Elversberg will be welcoming 1. FC Kaiserslautern to the URSAPHARM Arena for a home game on the eighth day of play. ‘It is really something special to be able to host Lautern’, SVE’s coach Horst Steffen said before the neighbours’ clash. ‘We are looking forward to the game.’ And his team can too: after a strong 4:1 away win over Hertha in the capital city of Berlin, SVE can head into the match with their heads held high. Markus Anfang also expects this to be a difficult away game for his team: ‘You can see that Horst Steffen has been their coach for a long time and that automatic processes are working. Elversberg are well-practised, a lot of things work well’, was Anfang’s praise of SVE. ‘They will want to force us to play their game. It will be an intense match, and we have to anticipate that. We will also have to withstand a few situations, defend ourselves and hold our own.’
It is really something special to be able to host Lautern.
Horst Steffen
Horst Steffen had similar things to say. Two close games from last season have not been forgotten – and new coach Markus Anfang has adapted his own game plan: ‘Markus Anfang brought his own game plan with him when he arrived in the summer and has also adjusted the team. The Kaiserslautern squad is fundamentally as well staffed as in the past. We will have to be very careful on Saturday and will need high levels of intensity and precision to take points home.’
FCK are already definitely missing a few names: they will have to manage without injured players Aaron Opoku, Almamy Touré, Frank Ronstadt, Kenny Prince Redondo and Hendrick Zuck. Reserve goalkeeper Avdo Spahic is also in question. The SVE team, on the other hand, have been hit by a mini cold epidemic this week: ‘We will have to see how things are at the weekend’, Steffen said. There is still some time before the kick-off, but Steffen needs ‘top-performing’ players for what is expected to be an intense game. And for these players, the strategy is clear: ‘We have to make sure that a lot of what we can do comes out on the pitch. Kaiserslautern’s game has many sides. And we know the impact that Lautern can unleash – we experienced that in last season’s away leg and we need to be prepared for it. It will most likely be an evenly matched game with opportunities for both teams.’ This means that both teams are expecting an intense match that could have a lot of potent back and forth – what more could football fans want? For reference, last year SVE gained a narrow 2:1 win in their home URSAPHARM Arena. A repeat this year would make everyone happy.