“Team is energetic and positive”

We’ve managed to develop a very good feeling at home throughout the entire season. This has been clearly demonstrated by our last three clean sheets at home. The atmosphere is great; we feel at home at Bölle. We’re looking forward to playing at home again.

We’re facing a good opponent who went unbeaten for an extremely long time at the start of the second half of the season. They may have lost their last two games, but they’re still in the promotion race and only four points behind the relegation playoff spot. Hannover has many experienced players who are at a very high level – like Halstenberg, Zieler, Neumann, Leopold, Kunze, Tresoldi. These are names that belong in the top tier of the 2. Bundesliga. Hannover comes to Darmstadt with the motto: „Last Chance.“ Therefore, I expect a totally energetic opponent who will do everything they can to win this game. They are very dangerous from set pieces and have the best defence in the league.

We always look at a team’s characteristics. And you don’t do the team justice by looking solely at the number of goals they’ve scored. Especially under André, they’re very focused on playing quickly and purposefully up front with excellent positional play. They have a lot of counterattacks with their strikers and always have a good box line-up. We have to be very vigilant there.

It will be a game that will demand everything from us. Set pieces will be key, both offensively and defensively – both corners and free kicks. But it will also depend on who controls the transition phases better. Both teams have a basic approach of playing the ball more offensively when playing with the ball. This creates space. Therefore, the remaining defense and positional play in transition will also be crucial. The game will likely be decided by small details. I don’t see one team having a clear advantage. It will depend on seizing the right momentum.

Our results have stabilised over the past few weeks – with the exception of the game against Ulm. We want to continue this consistent scoring streak. We must remain vigilant and still need points. Our personnel options have increased again. This also increases the likelihood of points. Therefore, we have a lot to play for again. Overall, we have managed to keep our performance stable throughout the second half of the season – even if it hasn’t been a successful second half in terms of points. The team is focused and ready. It’s energetic and positive. Everyone knows that we still need points. Even if we don’t need them, we would still want them. The team knows that a lot is at stake. This positive tension is good.