Hoeness: "We want to show a different side to ourselves"

Sebastian Hoeness on…

…the personnel situation: "Ermin Bičakčić is still not available for us. Unfortunately, Marco John has sustained a shoulder injury and will be absent for several weeks. Benjamin Hübner has completed some elements of team training. But he is not ready for the matchday squad and requires some time. Håvard Nordtveit is already a step further along, but we're not going to get ahead of ourselves with him either. Christoph Baumgartner will train normally with the team again today and will then be an option for Friday."

…the opposition: "They have exceeded their expectations this season by playing very brave football. Cologne are brimming with self-belief. That's down to Steffen Baumgart, and to the players too. They're the team of the hour."

…the game on Friday: "We want to give a better account of ourselves than we did in Stuttgart and to show a different side to ourselves. We do not want to stand for that kind of football. We'll need to be ready to suffer. Cologne's previous games have shown that. We'll need to be resilient."

…the international break: "We've have come through the international break well so far. There has not been any bad news yet and everyone should come back healthy. Starting from today, we want to start to prepare in a larger group for Friday, even if not everyone is able to train yet. We'll still be limited tomorrow too, as a large proportion of the lads who'll be out on the pitch on Friday have been away with their national teams."

Head-to-head record:

1. FC Cologne have tended to be TSG Hoffenheim's favourite foe in recent years. TSG have won each of their last six meetings with the Billy Goats. Hoffenheim also have the superior overall head-to-head record in the Bundesliga, with 10 wins, six draws and four defeats.

The opposition's form:

Cologne have made a strong start to the season under new boss Steffen Baumgart and sit in sixth place in the table with 12 points from seven matches. The men from the Cathedral City's only defeat this term came on Matchday 2 when they lost out to Bayern Munich.

Match facts and statistics »