The countdown to the new showdown at Ljudski vrt continues. After Wednesday’s draw with Celje, the Green-Whites set off for Maribor already on Friday afternoon. Before departing for Styria, team captain Matevž Vidovšek shared his expectations ahead of Saturday’s 167th eternal derby.

“A derby is always something more. There’s extra energy involved, since it’s the biggest match in the country. The goal is clear. We’ll give everything to win, join the top of the table, and make the championship more exciting.”

“We’re all very close together on the table. There’s only a few points’ difference, so a win in the derby would mean a great deal. We’d all sign up immediately to win 3:0 again, but we’d take a 1:0 just as quickly. The last derby was tense, and we know what the circumstances were like. Tomorrow we expect a lot as well. There will definitely be a real atmosphere, and I hope it ends with our win.”

The Dragons enter round 14 of the 1st SNL in fourth place with 19 points, while Maribor sits in second place with 24 points.