Third division side Rot-Weiss Essen visit Dynamo Dresden today. These are the teams the coaches are sending out onto the pitch.

Top match, full house, great atmosphere – all this is expected on Saturday afternoon in the duel between Dynamo Dresden and Rot-Weiss Essen at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion.

Even though both teams suffered a bitter defeat in their last match – RWE lost against Ulm (0:2), Dresden in Aue (1:2) – the euphoria ahead of the traditional duel is high.

Meanwhile, Essen head coach Christoph Dabrowski has had an eventful week. Just two days ago, the former Bundesliga professional extended his contract early until 2026.

In the first match after his contract extension, Dabrowski changed his starting eleven in three positions: The recovered Lucas Brumme and Mustafa Kourouma play for the injured Eric Voufack (syndesmosis ligament tear) and suspended José-Enrique Ríos Alonso. Ron Berlinski also replaces Leonardo Vonic at center forward

This is what both coaches had to say before the game:

Markus Anfang (Dynamo Dresden coach): “In training we placed a lot of emphasis on toughness and tackling. There was a scuffle, that happens sometimes. We have to work on all that again. It’s not time for us to celebrate soccer. We have to bring the basic virtues onto the pitch. Essen are currently doing better than us, as are Ulm and Münster.”

Christoph Dabrowski (Rot-Weiss Essen coach): “For me, Dresden are the best team in the league in terms of soccer. They actually show that in every game. They have a clear idea, a clear plan. The basis for us is to play very compactly as a team and to be very willing to run. We want to hurt Dresden with pinpricks and cause a certain amount of unrest in the stadium. But we don’t just want to work against the ball, we want to play courageous soccer, let the opponent run in our phases of possession and create scoring chances. “