Hütter ahead of critical Union Berlin clash: "Losing is forbidden"
A bright start to the 2020/21 campaign quickly degenerated into a five-match winless streak for Eintracht Frankfurt. Matters don't get any easier for the German Eagles this weekend as they must square off against a red-hot 1. FC Union Berlin at the Stadion An der alten Försterei.
Head coach Adi Hütter issued a clear challenge to his team in the Friday presser: "Losing is forbidden, because Union will pull away from us," he noted.
Head coach Adi Hütter issued a clear challenge to his team in the Friday presser: "Losing is forbidden, because Union will pull away from us," he noted.
| Adi Hütter. | Photo: Werner100359, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
The team's Austrian trainer drew upon his team's own words to frame his expectations for Saturday's fixture. If the team hopes to qualify for Europe, as striker André Silva and others have said they do, this weekend's match counts as a "must win".
Frankfurt will not find themselves with very many more chances to make up ground between now and end of the calendar year. After Berlin, Dortmund, Wolfsburg, and Gladbach are on the slate next. Hütter indicated that, unlike last week, he would deploy the full force of his preferred 3-5-2.
According to the coach, Djibril Sow and Erik Durm were likely to take a seat in favor of Sebastian Rode and Bas Dost. Makoto Hasebe will also return to run pivot out of the back. As to who might replace COVID positive Aymen Barkok, Hütter didn't commit to a specific winger, but did note that he had many options.
Dost and Silva both scored in their last trip to Köpenick in Round six of the 2019/20 campaign. The current upgraded incarnation of Union Berlin, however, bears almost no resemblance to the club die Adler faced on that day.
