Ilzer: "We want to put the opposition under pressure"

Christian Ilzer on…

...the change of coach at RB Leipzig: "That doesn't change anything in terms of our preparation. We are focusing on ourselves. The RB philosophy is the same, as we saw in the cup game. We have to adapt to what awaits us. That's the most important thing."

...Leipzig's elimination from the cup: "I don't know what their exit means for us. Leipzig had an unfortunate game, they put in a good performance. They were by no means the weaker of the two teams, perhaps even the better one for long stretches. Leipzig have enormous quality and a lot of pace. We need to play well defensively so that we don't give them any counter-attacking situations."

...the first leg: ‘’That was a really crazy game. We were behind three times, but turned the game around and came back to win. I was surprised by a few positive things, but I also saw a few things that could be improved. It was clear that it was going to be a difficult year. We are still working hard on that."

...the personnel situation: "There is still hope that Adam Hložek could make the squad. He worked individually at first, but his foot didn't respond well to the strain. We have to get his footballing fitness back up to the required level so that he can get back into form for the final weeks of the season. We'll wait for the final training session, but he could be in the squad. The same goes for Max Moerstedt. The injury list has become smaller. Alexander Prass will be out for another week or two. Apart from that, there's nothing new to report."

...the approach: "We've stabilised defensively, but we have to work on solutions in the final attacking third to get ourselves into scoring positions. We want to put our opponents under pressure. Now it's about making progress offensively without losing our defensive stability."

...the remaining fixtures: "The situation was better for us before the last three games. We've only picked up two points, which isn't enough. Our remaining schedule is not an easy one, we'll have to do a lot of defending."

Head-to-head record:

The two clubs have met 17 times in the league, with Leipzig winning nine games, TSG four, with the remaining four ending in draws.

The opposition's form:

Following their 1-0 defeat away to Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend, RB Leipzig parted company with coach Marco Rose. Zsolt Löw is now tasked with steering the current sixth-placed side into the Champions League places. His first appearance on the sidelines came in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday (a 3-1 defeat away to VfB Stuttgart).

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