KFC Uerdingen aims to continue its winning streak and lay the perfect groundwork for Tuesday’s make-up game against the league leader.

On Friday, league leader Ratingen 04/19 and KFC Uerdingen will take the field in the Oberliga Niederrhein. Ratingen faces promoted Holzheimer SG, and third-place Uerdingen plays at bottom-of-the-table 1. FC Kleve (8:00 p.m.).

After their victory in the top match against SpVg Schonnebeck, the Krefeld team now wants to capitalize on those three points in Kleve. That said, Kleve has regained some momentum—most recently earning four points from two matches.

So the KFC has been warned. But coach Julian Stöhr’s team can also take the field brimming with confidence. After all, they’ve won five of their last six matches—only against Dingden did they share the points in a 0–0 draw.

Ahead of the 90 minutes in Kleve, Stöhr emphasized: “We know what’s in store for us. It’s a tough field, a lot of physical play, and the second balls will be crucial. I want to see clear, direct soccer.”

And when it comes to the offense, Stöhr also has clear ideas, which is why training focused on specific areas: “This week, we’ve been working on things like creating numerical advantages on the wings. We’ve rarely capitalized on those well so far. It’s also about taking more shots from distance. So far, we haven’t scored a single goal from outside the penalty area.”

In the end, a single goal might be enough, as Kleve isn’t currently known for scoring many goals itself. No team has scored fewer goals. And the KFC has managed to keep three clean sheets in a row recently.

But Stöhr is on his guard; he recalls his time as ETB’s coach. Last season, they faced Kleve on the fourth-to-last matchday and also had to play at Bresserberg. The game ended in a 0–0 draw, which effectively ended their promotion hopes at the time.

Stöhr emphasizes: “The situation was similar back then, and I learned from it. You can’t underestimate Kleve. They pick up points against the top teams every now and then.”

For example, against St. Tönis or Schonnebeck this season. If they can’t get anything out of the match against KFC, Uerdingen would have set the stage perfectly for next Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), when they’ll play the rescheduled top match against the league leaders from Ratingen.