Markus Gisdol:
"We will give our all in Bremen"

Markus Gisdol on…

...the opponents:

Bremen are a really tough team to play, who are generally very robust and use their force and physical dominance. Perhaps we're a step further as a team on the technical side of things, but that will only be demonstrated if we put up enough resistance so that we can also bring our football to the pitch. We will give our all in order to get something out of the match. The fans in Bremen are fantastic. You have to play against them too.

...the squad:

Pirmin Schwegler is not ready after his injury and Steven Zuber is adjusting to the high intensity training. In his case, we have to wait and see. There's a question mark surrounding Jin-Su Kim's availability after the knock he took to his shoulder in the Augsburg match. His shoulder was apparently dislocated briefly and he's still feeling a lot of pain. There's also doubt over Kevin Volland. He hasn't trained yet this week due to a back problem.

...the situation:

We made progress in the second half of last season in terms of getting our balance and defensive stability right. It's hard to assess whether the team have made more progress in that department after a win with a clean sheet. We will have to wait ten matchdays to see the results. I don't have the ideal line-up in my head for the match at the moment. We have a strong squad, with two options to cover many positions, and I can use the impressions gathered in training this week to help me make my decision.

Robin Dutt on…

...Hoffenheim:

Hoffenheim are heading in a good direction and make the most of their chances. They play great football, you have to admit. We have to give our all once again. It will undoubtedly be hard work.

Past meetings:

The teams have met each other twelve times before in the Bundesliga. They also met in the quarterfinal of the DFB Cup in the 2009/10 season. The head-to-head record is not in TSG's favour. They've won one, drawn four and lost eight. TSG haven't yet won in the Weserstadion. Two of the past matches were particularly memorable. One of them is the 4-4 draw last season when Werder equalised in the 90th minute, with the other being Werder's 5-4 victory in Hoffenheim's first season in the Bundesliga. TSG trailed 4-1 after 30 minutes, but eventually levelled the scores, only for Mesut Özil to score the winner for SVW.

The opponents:

Bremen are still trying to find their feet a little. The highlight of their pre-season was a 3-0 victory against Chelsea, when Robin Dutt's side really put the coach's ideas into practice. Their 2-2 draw against Athletic Bilbao was also decent. Bremen's opening competitive match in the DFB Cup against Regionalliga side FV Illertissen saw them only just make it through in extra-time with a 3-2 victory. The team put in a decent enough display last weekend at Hertha BSC, showing their fighting quality, as well as their footballing ability. After going 2-0 down, the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

The key battles:

Like TSG, Bremen place a lot of importance on the togetherness of the team. Robin Dutt's side can play with three or four at the back. This is dependent on whether there are four or five men in midfield. It will be important for TSG to adapt to this and to find space in Werder's defence. Hertha BSC showed last week that you can break through Bremen's defence with speed and precision; a perfect recipe for the TSG attack.

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