Rose ahead of Freiburg game: "Xavi's absence is no excuse"

Marco Rose does not want to allow any major alibis after the absence of playmaker Xavi Simons. "The absence of Xavi is no excuse. We have an exceptionally good spirit, we will fight back and get results," said the head coach on the subject of decision-making ahead of the Bundesliga top match this Saturday (3.30pm/Sky) against SC Freiburg. The Breisgau side travel to the currently second-placed Saxons in third place in the table.

RB will have to do without the Dutch international for several weeks after he suffered a ligament injury to his left ankle in the Champions League match against Liverpool FC. It is still unclear whether the 21-year-old will require surgery, emphasized Rose.

A little reinvention

The coach is not planning any major tactical changes following Xavi's absence. "We don't need to adapt the system, we've planned the squad well. We're missing players with certain skills who have a big impact on our game. But it has no influence on the system. We just have to reinvent ourselves a bit," said Rose, who is at least hoping for the return of Lukas Klostermann (stomach bug) to the squad.

In the offense, Christoph Baumgartner will now come into play. "Now it's Baumi's turn. He's a top player who has earned more in between," said Rose, who also sees Elif Elmas and Viggo Gebel as options: "Little Viggo will get his first Bundesliga game at some point - our Leipzig boy." New Schalke signing Assan Ouedraogo will also be joining the team in training shortly and will then get "five or ten minutes of short appearances", Rose announced.

The RB coach has always won against Sportclub in his own stadium, regardless of whether he was at RB or coaching in Mönchengladbach or Dortmund. Nevertheless, he warns against the Breisgau side's standards: "We have to defend against them. Freiburg are a very stable team, they defend incredibly diligently and try to find playful solutions".