Fenerbahce and VfB Stuttgart are two teams that are currently on a roll. Sebastian Hoeneß wants to score points on the Bosporus with the usual style elements.
“We have ideas. We want to try to get the ball into our ranks quickly,“ said the VfB Stuttgart coach ahead of Thursday evening’s away game at Fenerbahce. Sebastian Hoeneß’s recipe: beat the opponents at their own game, because: ”This is a team that likes to have the ball and doesn’t like to defend. That’s exactly the situation we want to put them in.”
“It’s relatively clear how he will play. And so are we.”
The fact that he has a full squad to choose from is, of course, an advantage. With the exception of Ermedi Demirovic (foot injury) and Jamie Leweling (muscle problems), none of the regulars are unavailable. Hoeneß already has a clear idea of which players he will send onto the field, as his words at the matchday press conference on Wednesday evening suggest. With regard to his counterpart Domenico Tedesco, who took over the traditional Istanbul club in September and has a good interim record with four wins, three draws, and one defeat, he explained: ” Like us, he has two or three personnel decisions to make. Otherwise, it’s relatively clear how he will play. And so will we.”
Given the hosts’ attacking qualities, a formation with three central defenders, as seen in the recent 3-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg, would offer certain options to allow high pressing with many players in the build-up to run into space and then switch quickly. The fact that Bilal El-Khannouss, who sets the pace and provides ideas in the final third, and Angelo Stiller, who sets the tempo and is the man for the killer passes, are currently in top form should certainly not be detrimental.
VfB is the Bundesliga’s second-half leader
It is striking that Fenerbahce is struggling under Tedesco, especially in the final stages of games, as Kerem Aktürkoglu, Sebastian Szymanski, Talisca & Co. are not (yet) used to the German’s intense style. When asked about this, Hoeneß was cautious: “I can’t say whether that’s a weakness, but I want to talk more about us. We want to impress them with our intensity, our style of play.” However, should it be a close final phase, VfB can go into it with confidence despite the expected heated atmosphere: in a table that only takes into account the results of the second half of the season, the Swabians would be in first place in the Bundesliga with 18 points. That speaks for their physicality and mentality.
