After six matchdays, DSC Arminia are still without a win this season, and on Sunday evening (19.30, LIVE! on kicker), the in-form second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, of all teams, will arrive at the Alm. Bielefeld’s head coach Frank Kramer, however, does not see his team and himself in a special pressure situation.
“You can win a lot in a game like this. That’s how I approach it,” says the 49-year-old. He also has good memories of Leverkusen. Kramer got his first win as Arminia coach on 14 March with a 2-1 win at Bayer. It was the third game of his tenure, and Arminia had previously failed to win seven times in a row.
One reason why nobody is getting restless in Bielefeld at the moment is the fact that Arminia are almost always on a par with their opponents. However, goals and thus points are missing. “Our performances are okay, but we can’t be satisfied with that,” says Robin Hack. “We have to start scoring three times.” The 23-year-old offensive player knows exactly how to do that. “We need to take the lead for once, that would make a lot of things easier. Lately, we have lacked the coolness in front of goal.” Only in Fürth on the second matchday did the Bielefeld side manage to score 1:0 (final score 1:1). Against Leverkusen, Hack wants to keep the upper hand, especially in the direct duels. “It’s important for us to be nasty and robust in the duels,” says the newcomer. “In order to then be able to set pinpricks in the transition game.” Just like Celtic Glasgow on Thursday in the Europa League, only Arminia wants to be more successful.
For Kramer, it is important that “Bayer’s offensive is tamed”. You have to work the opponent from the start, the coach said. “We have to get on their nerves. Because if they have too much space, it becomes red-hot. And not only through Florian Wirtz, but through all the offensive players.” On the other hand, the Bielefeld coach also wants to get something done offensively himself. “When the door opens a crack, we have to be determined if we want through it. The basis for points in the Bundesliga are good performances, against Leverkusen we will need a very good performance,” Kramer explained.
Laursen and Andrade likely to miss out
The DSC coach will most likely have to do without Jacob Laursen (bruise on his midfoot) and Andres Andrade (muscular problems in his thigh) against Bayer, Alessandro Schöpf is ready to play again after a cold. Despite hip problems, Lennart Czyborra is a possible replacement for Laursen in the left-back position. “A little pain shouldn’t stop him from playing,” says Kramer. Edimilson Fernandes, who only started training this week after a flu infection, does not play a role yet. The Swiss will also not travel to the national team next week. Andrade will also not play for Panama during the international break. Joakim Nilsson (Sweden), Schöpf (Austria) and Patrick Wimmer (U 21 Austria) have been nominated.
Against Leverkusen, Bielefeld expect 16,250 spectators in the Schüco Arena. The stadium would be sold out with this number. In each of the first three home games of the season, 13,750 spectators were allowed into the Alm. In the first game after the international break on 23 October against Borussia Dortmund, the number of spectators will be increased further. “Then we will be allowed to sell significantly more than 20,000 tickets,” says Arminia’s press spokesman Daniel Mucha. “The exact planning will start after the Leverkusen game. “
