Concerned about personnel and hoping for more goals

It may come as a surprise to many fans but the meeting between TSG Hoffenheim and 1. FSV Mainz is a Bundesliga clash steeped in great tradition. The two teams will be going head-to-head for the 29th time in the Bundesliga on Sunday (17:30 CET/Live Ticker at tsg-hoffenheim.de). There have been 96 goals in their previous meetings – of which Mainz have won 13 and TSG eight.

But the historical statistics will hardly count for anything when the two teams round off the Matchday 12 action of the 2022/23 season in Sinsheim on Sunday. Nonetheless, the teams are reliant on improving their respective records: TSG in order to maintain their position in the close race for the European places and Mainz in order to move out of the relegation zone. Following a disappointing start to the season, Bo Svensson stepped back as coach at the start of November. The former U23 coach Jan Siewert took over and picked up four points from two games in which Mainz kept clean sheets prior to the international period. But despite the 2-0 victory over Leipzig and the subsequent 0-0 in Darmstadt, their situation in the table looks precarious: the 05ers sit 16th in the relegation play-off place with seven points from 11 games. Thanks to the good results so far, however, Siewert can hope that his interim appointment may become a permanent one. After the change in the dugout, the Mainz players are certainly highly motivated not to let another coach down with poor performances on the pitch. "As a player, you always have to blame yourself a little for a change of coach like that," said defender Maxim Leitsch, who added: "It's never nice to be partly to blame. We were aware that we had to put our foot on the gas and dig in." But he will not be able to do so himself in Hoffenheim, the 25-year-old having suffered a thigh injury in training and been ruled out for several weeks. They will also be without the injured Andreas Hanche-Olsen (defence) and Joshua Guilavogui (midfield) as well as the suspended Sepp van den Berg (defence) and Dominik Kohr (midfield) away to TSG.

The absences will hit 1. FSV hard. Because despite the poor results so far this season, they have been able to count on their defence. The attack has been significantly more concerning: 11 goals from 11 matches is a less impressive record, with only 1. FC Köln (nine) having posed less of a threat. It is certainly fitting that the current top scorers are midfielders Jae-sung Lee and Leandro Barreiro plus left-back Anthony Caci, with two goals each. In the absence of injured forwards Jonathan Burkardt, Karim Onisiwo and Nelson Weiper, the attacking hopes are currently on Ludovic Ajorque's shoulders. But the 29-year-old January signing from Strasbourg has netted on only one occasion this season and still waiting to make a successful mark this term.

Interim coach Siewert will need to find solutions in Hoffenheim – for a defence that has been decimated and an offence that has not yet hit its stride. The 41-year-old's future as the coach of the Bundesliga team is probably also at stake away to TSG. In a BILD interview before the game, 05 boss Christian Heidel did not want to be drawn: "A decision like that requires time and we're going to take it."

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