The vacant spot in midfield was filled by Jens Stage and the Dane made a good impression after his strong performance. Werner, however, remained coy when asked who would fill the midfield places this weekend: “We don’t know what will happen over the next week. You have to always be ready to make personnel decisions that best suit the team in that moment.” Werner also made it clear that he is prepared to make changes to the team if it is necessary: “If someone isn’t performing, if someone comes off the bench and makes a good impression or if someone is knocking on the door in training, then as the coach you always need to be open to making changes. That’s why it’s important to have competition for places within the team.”

This “competition for places” is also very much apparent at the top of the pitch. Niclas Füllkrug, who picked up a knock against Wolfsburg, is a doubt for the weekend, which means Oliver Burke could potentially start alongside Marvin Ducksch. “Burke can offer us something a bit different, not least because of his pace,” explained the coach. Forward Eren Dinkci, who has been our for four weeks due to a muscle injury, is also set to return to the squad. “Eren will rejoin the team today as planned but we will need to assess the extent to which he can contribute because he has been out for quite a while. He will, however, be back on the training ground and we will see how he gets on this week.” As well as Schmid and possibly Füllkrug, Werner will also have to do without Dikeni Salifou and Manuel Mbom against Stuttgart.