- 28.02.10
- First Team
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. - Derby in Karlsruhe
Six days after their great display in the clash against FC St. Pauli, the Red Devils are facing the next crunch encounter with their neighbors from Karlsruhe. On Sunday, February 28, 2010, 1. FC Kaiserslautern will meet Karlsruher SC at the Wildpark Stadium.
KSC - FCK
In view of their tight schedule, the Red Devils did not sit back and relax but jumped into the preparation for the derby directly after the 3-0 victory over the rivals from Hamburg. After renewing their strengths, the team of head coach Marco Kurz started to focus on the next challenge.
FCK’s injury list continues to shorten as also Sascha Kotysch and Kevin Trapp have rejoined the training sessions after long lay-offs. Only Alexander Bugera was forced to discontinue training on Thursday due to thigh problems but has just joined his team-mates again on Friday. Besides the long-term injured midfielders Bastian Schulz and Pierre de Wit, all Red Devils are available for selection and raring to go in the derby on Sunday.
KSC head coach Markus Schupp, on the other hand, has to deal with a more difficult situation since he will have to replace four regular players in the game against FCK. Massimilian Porcello, Christian Timm, Mathias Langkamp and Dino Drpic are ruled out of Sunday’s match in consequence of injuries. Moreover, it is doubtful whether Christian Demirtas and Michael Mutzel will be match fit on time. At KSC, the year did not start as expected. The team from Baden was not able to chalk up more than one win from six second-leg games so far. Hence, Karlsruher SC currently lies 13th in the standings on 27 points.
With 18 goals conceded, the defensive unit turned out to be KSC’s weak point this season. The defense kept their sheet clean only twice this season and is particularly vulnerable to dead ball situations. In answer to that problem, KSC has signed Marvin Matip during the winter break to inject freshness and strength to their defensive unit. The Bundesliga first division player has joined Karlsruher SC on loan from 1. FC Cologne until the end of the current campaign.
Even if the persons in charge at KSC were aware of potential problems within the club and did not expect their squad to achieve promotion to the first division at the end of the season, they may have expected more than position 13. The more so as numerous of their players have already been wearing the KSC jersey in the Bundesliga first division in the past.
These latest - rather negative - experiences will only fuel their determination to chalk up a derby win against the league leaders from the Betzenberg on Sunday. However, the guests from Kaiserslautern will not underestimate the neighbors from Baden at all. FCK head coach Marco Kurz will ensure his players are up for the fight just like he has been doing for 24 weeks now.
About 7,000 supporters will pass the Rhine to bolster their team in the derby on the road to Karlsruhe on Sunday. The 29,699 full house at the time-honored Wildpark Stadium will be treated to a game full of atmosphere and the Red Devils know from experience how a victory in front of a packed house feels like.
