Alemannia Aachen wants to show at MSV Duisburg why the team has felt much more comfortable on the road so far this season than at its home stadium, the Tivoli.
After a poor start to the season (just one win in six matches), Alemannia Aachen has found its footing in the 3. Liga. However, following three straight wins, the team recently suffered a minor setback.
At home, they lost 0–2 to Jahn Regensburg, a team relegated from the 2. Bundesliga. It was already their sixth home loss in their eighth home game; things are still not going well at Tivoli.
Coach Mersad Selimbegović said ahead of Saturday’s game (2 p.m.) at MSV Duisburg: “That was too easy. We didn’t go for it; we need to change things in one-on-one situations. Everyone has to take responsibility for every one-on-one duel. If you win the most important duels, you don’t lose.”
The Aachen players are probably looking forward to playing on the road again. After all, the team is currently performing better away from home. They’ve won four of seven away games, putting them in fourth place in the away standings.
They now want to show that same strength in Duisburg. However, Aachen will still have to do without five players. Mika Hanraths, Valmir Sulejmani, Fabio Torsiello, Matti Wagner, and Lamar Yarbrough won’t be available for the 90 minutes at Wedau.
With five players out, the Aachen team will have 4,800 fans cheering them on. The allocation of tickets for visiting fans sold out completely—a fantastic achievement for the coach: “When I hear that so many fans are coming along, it’s truly incredible.”
The coach, who took over Aachen on November 6 and has so far recorded one win and one loss, added: “A packed house—it’s going to be a heated match. MSV has a good team, but there are also areas where they’re not so strong. We have to take advantage of that.”
The Aachen team will travel to Duisburg as early as Friday. Selimbegović: “It’s not ideal preparation for the game if we might still have to drive two hours on game day. That’s why we’re heading to Duisburg on Friday.”
