MSV Duisburg faces a difficult task in the 3rd division against Hansa Rostock. Dietmar Hirsch expects an “emotional” match.

After a spectacular home win against 1. FC Saarbrücken, MSV Duisburg is entering the weeks of truth in the 3rd league. Coach Dietmar Hirsch’s team will face Hansa Rostock, 1860 Munich, Rot-Weiss Essen, and VfL Osnabrück in succession.

The Meiderich team will kick things off on Saturday (2 p.m.) in Rostock, with 1,000 Duisburg fans making the trip. For Rostock, this is a chance to close the gap on MSV to one point. For Duisburg, it’s an opportunity to keep a direct rival at bay.

The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw, with Duisburg failing to hold on to two leads. That’s why the focus in training this week has been on intensity, with an emphasis on pressing.

Hirsch is expecting a very intense game. “It will be emotional, the stadium will be full. There will be a great atmosphere, with Hansa under more pressure than us.”

Hirsch, who played 43 Bundesliga games for Hansa Rostock between 2001 and 2003, will still have to do without five players. There will probably not be a major rotation, as was the case in the recent midweek fixtures, when it was important for Hirsch to have “fresh legs” on the pitch. “Many players did well against Saarbrücken, and the substitutions worked very well again. So it will be difficult to pick a starting eleven,” he said ahead of the 90 minutes on the Baltic Sea.

And with MSV still the best home team in the league, the “Zebras,” who are ninth in the away table, now want to make their mark on the road again. They last did so in January, when they won 4-0 at VfB Stuttgart’s U23s.

This is how MSV Duisburg could line up against Hansa Rostock

Braune – Bitter, Fleckstein, A. Hahn, Coskun – Meuer, Casar – Symalla, Noß, Sussek – Lobinger

Missing: D. Becker (calf injury), Borkowski (torn calf tendon), Bulic (rehab training after muscle injury), Dittgen (groin injury), Hanin (knee injury)

Suspensions looming: Lobinger, Sussek, Tugbenyo