Hoeness: "We're really up for the game"

Sebastian Hoeness on…

…the opposition: "FC Bayern are doing very well. They are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and are the undisputed leaders of the Bundesliga. Nonetheless, we have noticed in our analysis that there are gaps in the defence. That said, you need to have a top day to come away with something."

…the personnel situation: "Ermin Bičakčić, Robert Skov, Fisnik Asllani, Chris Richards, Håvard Nordtveit and Sebastian Rudy are again unavailable. Benjamin Hübner is not yet out of quarantine, we need to see whether he makes it for Saturday. Kevin Vogt and Dennis Geiger are other alternatives."

…the match on Saturday: "I'm obviously hoping for a win for us. There's always hope – even against Bayern. They made a statement against Salzburg. But we'll go into it on the back of four wins and with a lot of self-belief. We're really up for the match. If we perform with courage, we have little to lose. A triumph against Bayern would be bonus points which we didn't factor in at the start of the season. We hope the fans will energise us once again."

…his special relationship with FC Bayern: "I was born in Munich and some of my family live there. There is therefore a relationship with the city, but also with the people that live there. I was also an FC Bayern fan as a child due to my father. That changes when you work in the industry yourself. Due to my work as a coach in the Bayern youth set-up, I have a very positive image of the club. That does not change the fact that I want to frustrate Bayern on Saturday."

The opposition's form:

Based on their own standards, FC Bayern have faltered slightly in the league of late and are having their worst start to a second half-season in 10 years. Julian Nagelsmann's charges boosted their self-confidence with a 7-1 victory over RB Salzburg in the Champions League on Tuesday, however.

Head-to-head record:

TSG have recently taken points from the record champions – especially on home soil, where they won the last meeting by a 4-1 scoreline in September 2020. TSG have won four and lost six of the last 10 Bundesliga meetings between the teams.

Match facts and statistics »