Before the derby bat 1. FC Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern’s head coach Marco Antwerpen spoke about the personnel situation and the upcoming opponent. For the duel, his team must “keep a cool head”.
Both teams recently with defeats
Both teams lost on the last matchday, the Red Devils 0:2 against Würzburg, the FCS with 0:1 in Mannheim. “After their derby defeat, the pressure might be a bit bigger for Saarbrücken, we want to take advantage of that if possible,” said Antwerpen. Nevertheless, Kaiserslautern’s coach showed respect for the upcoming opponent: “Saarbrücken have had a very good start to the season, with Adriano Grimaldi they have a player who has high quality,” said Antwerpen. He added that they must “go into the game with a cool head”.
We try to achieve a high identification with Kaiserslautern among the players.
The derby also plays into his team’s favour: “We always play really good games in derbies,” Antwerpen clarified. Although they don’t have any players from the city, they try to “achieve a high level of identification with Kaiserslautern among the players. We do that very well when you see how we play derbies. I think it’s important to identify with the club, that’s what we try to instil in the players.”
Due to the narrow gaps, FCK could make big leaps in the table with a win, while Saarbrücken, for their part, will be looking to stay in touch with the promotion places with a three-goal win.