Leipzig's Rose praises Heidenheim's Schmidt but seeks win

RB Leipzig coach Marco Rose has heaped praise on his Heidenheim counterpart Frank Schmidt but naturally still wants to win their Bundesliga duel on Sunday.

Leipzig aim to extend their club record unbeaten Bunndesliga run of 16 matches and rebound from a painful Champions League defeat against 10-man Juventus.

They are third in the league, two points ahead of sixth-placed Heidenheim, where Schmidt has been in charge for 17 years and taken them from the fourth tier into the Bundesliga, and the Conference League where beat Olimpija Ljubljana in their opener.

"I have huge respect for Frank and the decision-makers at the club who always kept calm," Rose told reporters on Friday ahead of the trip to southern Germany.

"I hope this character will be around for a very long time because Frank is an outstanding person and has developed a lot there. He was give the time to develop a lot there. He also remained calm in difficult times, that is always a symbiosis between coach and club."

Leipzig beat Heidenheim 2-1 in both games last season, and Rose urged a reaction after the 3-2 loss against Juve after a 2-1 lead.

"We have to be ready on Sunday for the difficult game in Heidenheim, even though the way we lost is still emotionally present," he said.

Rose did nor reveal how much he will rotate his team but said that Germany left back David Raum would definitely play.

"He is a mentality player. He gives us what we sometimes lack: greed, caustic quality, the remaining 5%," Rose said.