Will Azmoun and Malcom be available tomorrow? You’ve won in Dortmund in the past, will that experience help you tomorrow?
Neither Malcolm or Azmoun will be available tomorrow. Regarding my previous match here, this is history and it will not help in any way. We have all been in football for a long time and know it’s interesting because anything is possible.
What are Zhirkov's chances of playing tomorrow and could he play a full match?
Zhirkov has been absent since the international break, but for the last two days he has been in full training with the team and is ready for the match. Let's see how much he can play.
How do you plan to deal with Haaland?
Haaland is a European, maybe even global star, but he is not their only threat. They do not rely on individuals, but play as a team and we have to deal with their very strong attack. We'll see tomorrow who will play and how. Our players here are all ready for the match in this beautiful stadium, we’re looking forward to tomorrow's match.
Malcom has travelled with the team, is this a psychological move to support him? What is the situation with Azmoun’s test?
Malcom flew with us to get a consultation on his injury. Azmoun does not have coronavirus, but a different illness.
The Borussia manager has said Zenit have strength in depth, do you agree with this compliment?
I don’t think that is entirely true. We have 18 outfield players here and three of them are young, who were recently playing for Zenit-2. Some might think we have strength in depth, others may not. Everyone has a different idea.
Thoughts on the stadium? How did you feel walking out here?
I remembered the atmosphere that you always have in Dortmund and it is a wonderful sight. It’s sad that the match will be played without fans or with just a small number of fans. The supporters make that unforgettable atmosphere and energy that brightens up football.
Have you found any weaknesses in the Borussia team? And I'll ask again about Malcolm, what kind of injury does he have? Is it a reoccurrence of the old one?
It has nothing to do with any previous injury. We hope that in a couple of weeks he will be back in full training. As for any weaknesses with Borussia, everyone knows from watching the league and the UEFA Champions League the strengths of their players, the question is what can we do about it. There are 11 players out there on the pitch and whoever is better and perhaps luckier, will win.
You’ve analysed the match with Club Brugge and reviewed all the stats from the game, what did they indicate?
If we are talking only about statistical indicators, they were really not bad. But to win, you need to score goals. Looking at the number of scoring chances and the other stats, they were slightly better. We could have won, of course, but for that we needed to score.
