Hoeneß gives thoughts ahead of crucial PSG clash

Sebastian Hoeneß gave his thoughts during Tuesday’s press conference ahead of tonight’s season-defining Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain.

The clash with the Parisians takes its place as one of the biggest matches in Stuttgart’s recent history, with both VfB and PSG being able to take their place in the round of 16 playoffs. However, Hoeneß and his men are more than aware of the performance it will take to overcome a PSG side fresh from a fantastic win against Manchester City last time out in the competition.

“It’s not all that long ago that we could have only dreamed of being in a situation like this on a European night like this,” said Hoeneß. “But here we are and now we’ve got the opportunity to extend our Champions League journey. It’s a wonderful thing.”

The visitors to MHPArena, PSG, are yet to break through and win the Champions League, despite their success in the modern footballing landscape, including ten of the last twelve Ligue 1 titles.

Hoeneß remarked, “They’re among the top five teams in Europe.”

“They’ve got some extraordinary players in their side and they can press high and play as a team.”

“We’ll need a top performance and we want to produce a top performance too.”

Concerning tonight’s fixture, a win would see Die Schwaben take their place in the playoff positions, the same can be said for Paris Saint Germain.

However, there is a scenario in which both sides progress, should a draw be the final outcome in Stuttgart, and Manchester City overcome Club Brugge. 

Ahead of the match, Alexander Nübel will be assessed this evening after missing VfB’s final training session due to illness, whilst Anthony Rouault will serve a one-match ban after receiving his third yellow card of the season last time out against Slovan Bratislava. 

Otherwise, every other player registered as part of the Champions League squad is available and ready for selection.