After the cup sensation, 1. FC Saarbrücken will be back in the league on Saturday. The sporting director warns the cup heroes about MSV Duisburg.

The whole Saarland is upside down: 1. FC Saarbrücken has entered the DFB Cup semi-finals as a third division team. After the second division team Karlsruher SC, the Bundesliga teams FC Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and finally Borussia Mönchengladbach also had to admit defeat to the team of coach Rüdiger Ziehl and sporting director Jürgen Luginger.

The DFB Cup semi-final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern is on the agenda at the beginning of April. Now it’s a case of coping as well as possible with everyday life in the third division over the next few games. After all, Saarbrücken are still flirting with their original goal for the season: promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga!

On Saturday – March 16, 2 p.m., Forecasting live ticker – the Saarlanders travel to MSV Duisburg in the Ruhr region. In the first leg, the two traditional clubs drew goalless.

While Saarbrücken – 1. FC still have the catch-up game against Unterhaching up their sleeve – are ten points behind the promotion places, MSV are five points off the safety margin

“It’s clear that our boys now have to flip the switch again. But I’ll be honest: they’re human beings, not machines. After an experience like the one against Gladbach, it won’t be easy to flip the switch back to third division mode. On the other hand, we have to manage it,” sporting director Luginger told Forecasting ahead of the clash against MSV.

He went on to emphasize: “Because we want to knock on the door of the top three places in the league and only wins in the last ten matches will help us do that. We’ve drawn 13 times, which is simply too many. We can’t move forward with that. The game in Duisburg is very important. But it will be very difficult. MSV are fighting for sporting survival and are strong at home. Nevertheless, we will of course play to win again!”