Walter: “We want to be just as dominant away as we are at home”

Hamburger SV will face 1. FC Kaiserslautern in this weekend’s Bundesliga 2 blockbuster clash, which will take place on Saturday evening (28th October, 20:30 CEST) at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. Second in the standings will face off against sixth; the Red Devils have scored the second-most goals in the league, but they’ll be up against the Rothosen’s defence, which has conceded the second fewest goals in the second division. On top of this, both sides are rich in tradition and history – it’s a massive game! In last season’s trip to Kaiserslautern, the Rothosen suffered a 2-0 defeat. “We made too many critical errors in that match and weren’t able to use our attacking strengths,” recalled Tim Walter in the press conference ahead of the important clash at the sold-out Betzenberg. Tim Walter touched on...

...the injuries to Ignace van der Brempt and Ludovit Reis: We’ve got a couple of injuries at the moment, but we’ve also got a lot of squad depth. Immanuel Pherai and Moritz Heyer both played recently and slotted back into the side seamlessly. We’ll wait until Saturday to decide how much they’ll play against Kaiserslautern. The fact is that it hurts when players get injured and are sidelined for extended periods of time. Sebastian Schonlau will be out for the foreseeable future despite doing everything he can. Jean-Luc Dompe is also having hip problems and will also miss the game at the weekend.

“It’s an evening game and a clash between historic clubs – we’re looking forward to it!”

…the huge game on matchday 11: We’re really looking forward to it. Not only is it an evening game, but it’s also a clash between two of Germany’s historic clubs. It’s obviously great when there are lots of fans in the stands away from home. As the team with the best away record last season, we want to start playing as well and being as dominant as we are at home when we’re on the road. We’re going there to win. That’s our aim.

...the opposition’s strengths: Kaiserslautern have been very good at home this season, winning four of their five games so far. They have the fans behind them at their ground and are good on the counter. FCK are a very good team on the whole who play with a lot of energy and physicality. They also made some very good signings in the summer. There’s a reason why they’re so high up in the table.