Rot-Weiss Essen has a full squad, so not everyone will make it into the lineup. The question is also who Uwe Koschinat will put up front against the bottom team.

In the first half against MSV, Rot-Weiss Essen exuded an uncanny dominance. What was missing were the big chances. When it comes to creating opportunities, RWE is not one of the best teams in the league.
On Sunday (4:30 p.m.) against bottom-of-the-table 1. FC Schweinfurt, we can expect a similar dominance from Essen in front of over 17,000 spectators at the stadium on Hafenstraße.

This raises the question of whether RWE will start with a true number nine, after Ramien Safi recently started in the center of the attack. With Jannik Mause, Jaca Cuber Potocnik, and Marek Janssen, they have three central attackers waiting for their chance.

Koschinat admitted that this idea is being considered. “Our goal must be to exude danger as well as visual superiority. Therefore, we are naturally considering making changes to the front line.”

However, this may not happen. It is more likely that Safi will start up front again. At the pre-match press conference, the coach explained: “Ramien Safi has had success at MSV. He was rewarded for his very intense pressing. We have a lot of players from the second row who define themselves through goal-scoring and final actions. In that respect, it may not necessarily be necessary to play that way from the start. But we will definitely incorporate it into our preparations for the game, because it must also be an option to make offensive changes during the game and bring more presence into the penalty area.”

If Safi plays on the wing, he won’t face Ekin Celebi. The player on loan from RWE is not allowed to play against Essen, as stipulated in his loan agreement with Schweinfurt. Koschinat: “Those were purely matters between the host club and the player, in which I was not involved in any way. Nor was it necessary.”

If Celebi does travel to Essen, he could take a seat in the stands next to three teammates whom he will meet again in the summer after his loan spell.

Since all RWE field players are fit, three players will have to sit in the stands as of Friday. Most recently, Jannik Mause and Luca Bazzoli, two new signings who were considered potential regulars after their commitments, were affected in the derby.

The reaction to their exclusion from the squad in Duisburg was positive, as Koschinat explained: “Decisions like this always need to be discussed. We did that very openly and positively. Both players have responded really well in training. They are also very well integrated into the team. When all players are fit, there will always be situations where players are not happy with their situation. That’s part of everyday business. It’s something that I, and the coaching team, have to reassess every week.”

But in the case of Mause and Bazzoli, there was no bad blood between me and the guys. On the contrary, we had positive discussions. There were clear indications of what needs to be done to improve the situation.

Uwe Koschinat on Jannik Mause and Luca Bazzoli, who recently failed to make the RWE squad.

This means that even before the 90 minutes against the bottom team in the table, there will be a new assessment, after which a trio will not be nominated for the squad. Koschinat, who has most of his squad in mind but also wants to wait for the final impressions from Saturday’s training session, reports: “There will again be players who, although they are fit to play, will not make it into the squad. But with Mause and Bazzoli, there’s no bad blood between me and the guys. On the contrary, we had positive discussions. There were clear indications of what needs to be done to improve the situation. We’re in professional sports, and performance is the decisive factor.”