Hoeness: ''We have to bring our strength out on the pitch''

Sebastian Hoeness on…

…Sunday's game: ''We expect ourselves to beat Fürth at home. The results in the last few games mean we have to win if we want to achieve our goals. That is not meant disrespectfully towards Fürth.''

…the opposition: ''We can't underestimate Fürth. They picked up points against Freiburg and Frankfurt. They also could have come away with something in the second half against Gladbach. We'll go to the limit on Sunday in order to get the three points."

…the three recent defeats: ''The three games each have their own story. We have ourselves to blame for the poor chance conversion, especially in the Bochum game. In the other two games, we were missing some key players. But I would like to correct myself and not talk about a depleted squad in Leipzig. We put out a team that we thought could get a result, it was just that we had a limited number of players available. In Berlin, we failed to defend set-pieces properly.''

…the table situation: ''We are still among the top six teams in the Bundesliga. Our clear goal is to stay there in order to play in Europe next season. But to do that, we have to give everything for five games and bring our strength out on the pitch. The first step comes on Sunday.''

…the personnel situation: ''Marco John and Ermin Bičakčić are definitely not available, while it's unlikely that Benjamin Hübner and Florian Grillitsch will make it. Andrej Kramarić has not trained for two days, we think he has food poisoning. We'll wait and see, just like with Georginio, who still has problems with his shoulder. Sebastian Rudy and Dennis Geiger are back after their Covid infections. Angelo Stiller, on the other hand, had to sit out today. We'll see how things look after the next two training sessions..“

…the several absences: ''Absences never come at a good time, but for this to happen during the final stretch is particularly annoying. You always have phases like this in a season, but it's really severe for us at the moment. It's not just an issue that affects the starting XI we put out at the weekend, but also the training we do during the week. We have to deal with the challenge.''

The opposition's form:

Although SpVgg Greuther Fürth are winless in seven games (three draws and four defeats) and have not scored a goal in three games, Stefan Leitl's team have nonetheless picked up points against SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt in recent weeks. With a ten-point gap to 16th place, the team at the bottom of the table are staring down the barrel of relegation.

Head-to-head record:

The two clubs have played one another three times in the Bundesliga to date, with TSG unbeaten in these meetings (two wins, one draw). TSG won the return fixture 6-3, marking the first time in club history that Hoffenheim scored six goals away from home in the Bundesliga.

Match facts and statistics »