Minus backdrop against Ingolstadt? Schommers sees progress

Third division club MSV Duisburg will host FC Ingolstadt on matchday 15. This is what the personnel looks like ahead of the important home game.

When MSV Duisburg face FC Ingolstadt on Saturday afternoon (November 11, 2 p.m.), they will be hoping to finally score the first three points under new coach Boris Schommers. His record so far: four competitive matches, one draw, three defeats (1:4 goals).

The Zebras absolutely need three points to stay in touch with the non-relegation places. They are already six points behind the drop zone. Coach Schommers is therefore aware of the importance of this match, but the 44-year-old also sees progress compared to his early days.

“We also worked well against the ball in Mannheim, apart from the wild phase in the second half, and defended as a team. But that doesn’t mean that we only react, the team has also internalized that we want to be more offensive at different levels of the pitch. We are taking steps forward. The fact that we picked up a point was a small step. It would be nice if we could now take a bigger step at the weekend and keep the three points in our stadium.”

Schommers had this to say about the upcoming opponents: “Ingolstadt are a very strong, pressing team. They are twelfth in the table, are dangerous and work hard against the ball. We’ll have to implement the solutions we’ve developed to create more scoring chances against them than we did last week.”

Negative backdrop looms against FC Ingolstadt

After the results of the last few weeks, it is no surprise that MSV are threatened with a negative result. “We are expecting just over 9,000 spectators against FC Ingolstadt,” emphasized MSV press spokesman Martin Haltermann. Previous low: 9,513 fans against SpVgg Unterhaching. However, this match was Duisburg’s only win of the season. A good omen?

In terms of personnel, the situation has changed somewhat compared to the draw in Mannheim: Joshua Bitter will be missing due to a yellow card suspension. Other absentees include Tim Köther, Pascal Köpke and Alaa Bakir, who will not be available until the winter following his knee operation.

Santiago Castañeda and Rolf Feltscher are still questionable. However, Schommers is confident that both players will be able to play. Meanwhile, Marvin Bakalorz and Kolja Pusch are back in team training. Long-term injury victim Niklas Kölle also took part in full team training for the first time in a long time