“Everything else doesn’t matter in the derby”: SCM expects difficult game in Leipzig

“It’s going to be a tough game. We’ve always had a hard time there in recent years, no matter what kind of squad we got there with or what it looked like at Leipzig,” said left winger Lukas Mertens ahead of Sunday’s game (4 p.m. / DYN, MDR). The German international is counting on the fact that there will be a lot going on in the arena, after all, the match is completely sold out and the away section is well filled with 500 SCM fans. “It’s a derby, everything else doesn’t matter – even the current table or injury situation.”

The start has been very bad for SC DHfK so far. After a major personnel upheaval, the club not only has several new signings to integrate and a new head coach in Raul Alonso, but also has to compensate for the absence of several key players. Still without a win, only one point is on the credit side on the ninth matchday.

For Magdeburg, however, this is no reason to underestimate the opponent. “Regardless of the standings, it will be a typical derby in Leipzig. I know how they will approach this game,” says SCM coach Bennet Wiegert, who expects the Saxons to be even more motivated in their own hall. “If we are not prepared for it, it will be more than tough for us. Of course, we want to avoid that and take the next points in the Bundesliga.”