On Monday, MSV Duisburg will meet SV Waldhof Mannheim. The coach of the Kurpfälzer sees parallels between the clubs and wants to prove something.

Although the promotion places are only four points away, SV Waldhof Mannheim’s season has been like a rollercoaster ride so far. They have not yet won two games in a row, despite a total of nine trebles. This made the successful start to the year all the more important for coach Christian Neidhart.

Last Saturday, the Mannheim team beat league rivals TSV 1860 München 3:1. “A chest burster,” Neidhart called it at the press conference before the game against MSV Duisburg (Monday, 7pm, RS ticker). “Everyone felt that the mood after the game was really really good. It was important that we started well,” added the 54-year-old.

Now, however, he said, it was a matter of proving that 2023 would be a more consistent year for SV Waldhof. “That is the exciting question,” he said, adding: “Whether we can maintain the enthusiasm, the commitment and the counter-pressing from the game against 1860 over a longer period of time. Or whether this performance was a flash in the pan.

In any case, Neidhart sees a clear upward trend in the last few games and in the preparation. Now it’s a matter of bringing in stability.

This is a team with similar ambitions as Waldhof Mannheim.

Christian Neidhart on MSV

Away at MSV Duisburg will not be an easy task. On the one hand, because the Kurpfälzer are in last place in the away table with a measly two points. On the other hand, the Zebras have also had a good start to the year.

Neidhart sees parallels: “This is a team with similar ambitions to Waldhof Mannheim. They are not satisfied with where they are. There is also the pressure of having to play at the top. Similar to us, they now have to get stability.”

In any case, the Mannheim coach expects a game “at eye level” on Monday, in which the form of the day could be decisive.

SV Waldhof Mannheim will have to do without the long-term injured Gerrit Gohlke (shoulder surgery) and Marco Höger (cruciate ligament tear) against MSV Duisburg. In addition, Luca Bolay (torn muscle fibre) is also missing. Niklas Sommer and Marc Schnatterer are questionable. Newcomer Thomas Pledl is already an alternative. Neidhart has “high expectations” of the 170-time second division player.