Schreuder: "We've regained our belief"

Alfred Schreuder on…

…the clash with Cologne on Wednesday: "It was a very good performance from us, especially in the first 30 minutes. It went very well for us at the beginning of the second half too. It wasn't as good from a footballing point of view after it went to 3-1, but we dealt with it mentally. The mood in the camp was good as a result. We've regained our belief in our strengths. We still need to improve a few things, but that's part of our development."

…the personnel situation: "It's looking pretty good for our lads. There are still questions marks over the involvement of Florian Grillitsch (adductor problems). In addition, Benjamin Hübner is suspended. We have several options to replace him. We'll see who will play."

…the reverse fixture against Mainz: "We put in a very good performance in the first half. We were then a man up but we defended against counter-attacks very poorly. Sometimes what can happen in football is that you run a little less when you're a man up. That mustn't happen to us again. We need to focus on ourselves."

…the opposition: "Mainz have a great deal of individual quality in the team. They are particularly good in terms of the running they put in. They also keep their cool when they fall behind and often come back. In Robin Quaison and Jean-Philippe Mateta, they have some very good attacking players."

Head-to-head record:

TSG Hoffenheim supporters will not have fond memories of their two meetings with 1. FSV Mainz 05 last year, having seen their side lose 5-1 and 4-2 to the 05ers. All in all, the Kraichgau club have a negative head-to-head record against Mainz, with six wins, six draws and nine defeats.

The opposition's form:

With 28 rounds of matches played, coach Achim Beierlorzer's charges sit 15th in the table on 28 points. Mainz, who drew 1-1 at Union Berlin in midweek, have picked up two points since the Bundesliga restart.

Match facts and statistics »