Ilzer: "We have to play with determination"

Christian Ilzer on…

…lessons learned from the win over Anderlecht: "The sense of achievement does us good. We're gaining more and more confidence. Even if it wasn't enough to stay in the competition, it gives us confidence for the difficult game in Leverkusen."

…the cohesion in the squad despite several absences: "We're on the right track overall. Cohesion is a key issue, we want to channel our energy together in one direction. We've made some progress in that regard thanks to our success. For many of the young players who took part for the first time yesterday, it was an experience and a very important one. For the academy players, however, the professional debut is not the finish line, but only the starting line, now it really gets going."

...the central defenders: "Hranáč played yesterday, it was very important for him to score the goal. He did really well yesterday. Chaves played at right-back yesterday because Kadeřábek and Gendrey were out. He did very well against a player with a lot of individual quality. But we're still conceding too many goals, so it'll be important for our back line to get into their stride and familiarise themselves with the processes."

...the game in Leverkusen: "They're a great team with a lot of quality, you can see Xabi Alonso's signature. We want to take some confidence with us, but we also have to think about how we can disrupt the reigning champions of Germany."

...the approach: "They are very good against the press, and once they get past it, they have a lot of quality. We have to be very cohesive and invest a lot in working against the ball. But we also need our own ball possession, you're not going to be able to win if you don't have control over phases."

...anticipation ahead of the game: "Yesterday was really cool, the stadium had a brutal energy and our fans also created an outstanding atmosphere, it felt really good. We now have to tackle our next task with confidence. We have to have belief that we can do something against this strong opponent away from home."

... the Czechs in the squad: "They are very close-knit, but also very well integrated into the big group. They are very good characters who have never let their heads drop, even in difficult phases, and who rewarded themselves yesterday with goals and assists. Adam Hložek has recently played a key role in our attacking play. David Jurásek has also done well in recent games."

...the young players: "It's important to develop over a long period of time and be resilient. At the moment, the absences have opened up opportunities, and David Mokwa has utilised them really well. You can definitely develop into a starting player that way. For the others, it's also an experience that will help them, even if they have to go back to the U23s for now."

The personnel situation:

Gift Orban and Erencan Yardimci are once again options for the squad after having to sit out the Europa League due to lack of match eligibility. We'll have to wait and see who is available for Sunday with the other players who have been missing recently. Haris Tabaković and Valentin Gendrey will definitely be missing on Sunday. All players from the squad that played Anderlecht should be available.

The opposition's form:

The Werkself won in the Champions League against Sparta Prague (2-0) during the week and thus qualified directly for the round of 16 of Europe's elite. They drew 2-2 with RB Leipzig in their most recent Bundesliga match.

Head-to-head record:

The record is clearly in Leverkusen's favour. The Werkself have won 20 of the 33 Bundesliga clashes to date, while Hoffenheim have only emerged victorious seven times. Leverkusen have won all four of the most recent encounters.

Match facts and statistics »