Neestrup gives player updates before Bayern clash
F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup has offered an update on the playing squad ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
Neestrup has a near-fully fit squad to choose from but it without David Khocholava, Andreas Cornelius and William Clem. Elias Jelert is suspended and Emil Højlund is selected for the U19s to play in the UEFA Youth League.
Discussing his players, Neestrup said: "Kevin (Diks) is in the squad, he trained fully today, and (Nicolai) Boilesen is also in the squad, and that's probably the only new thing since last time.
"Kevin has been one of our best players defensively this autumn, but also offensively, where he has given us some other options in the game when we have had to build up from the back.
"Boilesen has been out for a long time, and suffered a re-injury some time ago, but all of us who know Boile, know his quality and his calmness on the ball. He can be an advantage for us even if he has just come back."
Neestrup was also asked about where he thinks his team is at the moment.
“I think we are in a good place," he said. "We are as good as if we had won 2-0 on Saturday. We are of course not satisfied with what we delivered (against FCM), but we see that as an isolated performance, just like when we lost to Silkeborg.
"Therefore, as I said, I think we are in as good a position as we can be in terms of facing one of the world's best teams, so it will be a huge match."
Going for points
Neestrup is also on the search for more points in Group A to maintain the momentum, regardless of the size and stats of Tuesday's opponent.
"A perfect result will be a win, a good result will be points, and if that is to be achieved, we must play well. But we can also lose tomorrow even if we have delivered a good performance," said the boss.
"If we look back a year ago, we drew with Manchester City who later went on to win the tournament, so we know that it's possible to get a result tomorrow. We have to pursue that opportunity, and we can only do that if we are highly disciplined in our defence and if we dare to take the game to them in the right places on the field."
Claesson: Parken form is key
FCK captain Viktor Claesson also spoke to the media on Monday and pointed to the Lions' undefeated home record in the Champions League group stage last season as reason for optimism ahead of Tuesday.
"We go into the match with great confidence," said Claesson. "Last season we didn't lose in Parken despiteplaying three really good opponents.
"So last year's Champions League in particular, we can learn something from that and take it with us onto the pitch tomorrow."
Parken is sold out for the match, which kicks off at 9pm on Tuesday. Fans in Denmark can watch the game live on TV3+ or Viaplay, with coverage starting from 7:30pm. Supporters in the UK can watch via TNT Sports 4 (8pm) and in Germany via DAZN.