Breitenreiter: "We want to continue our approach"

André Breitenreiter on…

…a possible postponement: "TSG have proactively approached 1. FC Cologne and the DFL through Alexander Rosen, since Cologne are in this situation through no fault of their own. We want a fair competition, but there are of course many organisational things to consider. We're very cooperative as a club and understand the fact they are seeking a postponement."

…the game in Cologne: "I'm looking forward to the game in Cologne, there's always a special atmosphere there. I played alongside Steffen Baumgart in Wolfsburg, I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

…the opposition: "They're a team with a good plan who play in a very emotional way. They're under a great strain and yet they go forward very aggressively; an exciting challenge awaits us there. Cologne are on the right track and are dangerous from set-pieces too."

…the focus in Hoffenheim: "We want to continue our approach and perform with conviction. We were lacking small details to beat Bayern last week. Barcelona, for example, did not have a chance to score against FC Bayern during the week – although I'm not trying to compare us with Barcelona now. We're working to continue our development and want to reward ourselves with points in Cologne."

…the games before the World Cup break: "We want to achieve the best-possible points tally from the four games. We want to keep playing attractive football and to pick up many points in order to sign off for the winter in a good position."

The personnel situation:

Kevin Vogt will return to the squad after serving his suspension. Benjamin Hübner (fitness training), Ihlas Bebou (knee problems), Lukas Philipp (finger injury) and Munas Dabbur (shoulder injury) will all miss out through injury. Ermin Bičakčić will be included in the U23s' squad on Friday evening.

The opposition's form:

1. FC Cologne lost 5-0 away to 1. FSV Mainz 05 last weekend. That defeat was preceded by a hard-fought 3-2 victory over FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga the weekend before. The Europa Conference League fixture on Thursday away to Czech club 1. FC Slovacko was called off due to fog in the seventh minute with the score at 0-0 and will be resumed on Friday at 13:00 CET.

Head-to-head record:

1. FC Cologne have suited TSG in the past: Hoffenheim have won their last eight clashes with Cologne, with their last Bundesliga defeat coming over seven years ago (3-2 in Cologne in April 2015). TSG have won 12 of the 22 Bundesliga meetings, while the Billy Goats have triumphed only four times.

Match facts and statistics »