1899 travel to Bremen

Demba Ba returned from his friendly match in Seoul with a knock. The Senegalese striker is suffering from muscular problems. Another doubtful are defenders Per Nilsson, Josip Simunic and Marvin Compper. "I'll decide on a starting line up after the final training session," said Rangnick. Marvin Compper is hoping to run off his injury in time for the weekend: "We're working hard but we only have 48 hours left. If everything goes to plan, I should be able to play."

Following the defeat in Mainz, the manager will be hoping to see a focussed performance from the world 'go': "We need to start better." The Hoffenheim supremo also paid testament to Bremen's good start the season and praised the offensive capabilities of the northerners: "Bremen have a very good attacking quartet in the form of Mesut Özil, Marko Marin, Claudio Pizarro and Aaron Hunt. That's where their strengths lie."

Marvin Compper and his team-mates appear to have learnt since the 5-4 reverse last season: "We've grown since then. It's always hard to turn a game around and we tried to go all out attack against them." This time, Compper believes Hoffenheim will set their stall out somewhat differently: "We want to win in Bremen. We'll be trying to improve in terms of our movement and not wait for them to take the game to us." Tim Borowski will most likely miss out against Hoffenheim, while Hugo Almeida and Sebastian Prödl (both still recovering from injury) will also be in the stands. "I hope we can keep things tight at the back," said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf in reference to Hoffenheim's pacey attacking game. The match in Bremen is a sell out.