Walter: "We're staying cautious"

The final set of Bundesliga 2 fixtures get underway on Friday after the November international break drew to a close on Tuesday. There are four more matchdays until the winter break. HSV welcome seventeenth-placed Eintracht Braunschweig to the Volksparkstadion for the first match of this round of fixtures on Friday (18:30 CET). The Rothosen haven’t dropped a single point at home so far this season and their unbeaten run at the Volksparkstadion has lasted for over a year. As a result, the squad are looking forward to putting on a show in front of the home fans once again come Friday. However, head coach Tim Walter acknowledged that the visitors are a team on the rise in Wednesday’s press conference. The 48-year-old also spoke in detail about...

…the current squad situation: It’s great that Ignace Van der Brempt and Sebastian Schonlau are back in training and are making progress, but they still need time to recover and we’ll give them that time. It’s our duty to take care of the lads’ health in consultation with the medical team. We’re also still missing Ludovit Reis and Anssi Suhonen, but the others have recovered from their injuries and illnesses and are all now back on the pitch

"We’ve got four more weeks before the winter break. There are five massive games coming up and the next one will take place on Friday evening" 

...the clash against Braunschweig: We’re staying cautious. We don’t have the best track record against so-called smaller teams. It won’t be a walkover, we take every opponent seriously. Eintracht Braunschweig’s new coach has given them a bit of a boost. They’ve recently won both in the league and in friendlies. They don't tend to have much possession, but they win the ball a lot and are always dangerous in transition. On top of this, they pose a threat with set pieces. There are no small teams in the 2.Liga. We see that every week.

...the excitement for the evening game: We’re looking forward to finally playing at home again after the international break. Our main target is to pick up all three points. We’ve got four more weeks before the winter break. There are five massive games coming up and the next one will take place on Friday evening.