It’s a week with a lot of travel miles. First to Belgrade, then to Bremen, and today to Regensburg. At least the strength of the opponents is decreasing, and hopefully, the results will improve.
What can be said about this game that hasn’t already been written in the post-match analysis of the draw in Bremen? The team is clearly quite exhausted, both physically and mentally, but still has the individual quality to stay afloat in Bremen with a 2–2 draw. Of course, that’s a very close-up perspective: in the league, the team remains within striking distance of the international spots (a feat that would have been half a sensation just three years ago, as I don’t need to remind anyone). In the Champions League (!), the team is under pressure but still has a chance to reach the next round, and in the DFB-Pokal, there’s a very strong chance of making the quarterfinals—and perhaps even more. If they can avoid facing the winners of Bayern vs. Leverkusen and Frankfurt vs. Leipzig in February’s quarterfinals, reaching the semifinals doesn’t seem unrealistic given the remaining field. But let’s not take the third step before the first. First up is the away game in Regensburg, who made it to the Round of 16 with two 1–0 wins; however, their opponents, Bochum and Fürth, were not exactly heavyweights. Regensburg is firmly at the bottom of the table and, including their two cup games, has scored only seven goals this season while conceding 33. For today’s match, there are really only two keywords: rotation and mandatory victory.
Personnel Situation
Rotation is necessary to avoid adding to the list of long-term injuries, which already includes Zagadou, Undav, El Bilal, Raimund, and Leweling. Al-Dakhil is unfortunately still sick, and the minutes in Regensburg would have done him good.
Possible Lineup
Even against Kaiserslautern, the second string showed that they have internalized the playing philosophy. Given the busy schedule, the team would likely rotate heavily, hoping to sub off Demirovic early in the event of a comfortable lead. This also means that those on the pitch, as mentioned, will need to prove themselves.
Statistics
Regensburg’s record in the second division and the cup has already been mentioned. In the league, they have five different goal scorers, so no one particularly stands out. Interestingly, their squad includes three former strikers from VfB’s second team—Noah Ganaus, Eric Hottmann, and Dejan Galjen—who were quite successful with our reserves. This is the seventh encounter with Jahn Regensburg overall, and the first in the cup. The other six matches took place during VfB’s second-division years in the 1970s and during our last stint in the lower league. In 2019/2020, VfB came out on top. Almost exactly 48 years ago, on December 5, 1976, Regensburg won their only match against VfB. Let’s hope it stays that way; in the return match, VfB famously won 8–0 at Neckarstadion, with six goals from Ottmar Hitzfeld and one from our coach’s father.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, today is about advancing efficiently while conserving energy. At the same time, the entire squad must now take responsibility, and players who haven’t had much playing time need to show that they are viable options. Under no circumstances should Regensburg be allowed to believe, even for a moment, that an upset is possible.
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