Head coach Roger Schmidt is greatly looking forward to the return against Leicester City. In a sold-out Philips Stadium, his team must take the final step towards the first European semifinal in seventeen years on Thursday. "The atmosphere on European nights at the Philips Stadium is second to none. The fans can give us the final push in the right direction."
Fans
Schmidt is impressed with the massive support in Leicester last week. "In England, our supporters were many. They helped us get a result with perspective. The fans can make the difference tomorrow. In a sold-out house, I expect a fine atmosphere. The European home games this season have turned out to be wonderful nights every time. As a team, we are very much looking forward to being carried by the massive support of our fans."
Setback
"It is a setback that just as the prizes are about to be distributed we are missing a number of players," the coach refers to the injuries of, among others, Olivier Boscagli and Noni Madueke. "Ideally, I would like to prepare for these matches with my strongest possible selection. However, it should never be an excuse. An important strength of ours is the width of the selection. The team is keen to win for Olivier tomorrow. We have to, because his injury (a severe knee injury, ed.) is a personal tragedy."
Open competition
Back to tomorrow's day. Schmidt, like last week, expects an open match. "As soon as a goal falls, one of the two teams can no longer hide. Our organization will have to be in order. In addition, our offensive qualities must be the deciding factor tomorrow. We have already played more than fifty games this season. So there is no lack of experience. We are ready to decide this battle in our favor," said the motivated coach.