#KOETSG Preview - "Maximise the current success"

JULIAN NAGELSMANN ON...

... the opponent:

We’ve had two very good games against Köln already this season, albeit we lost to them in the cup. We want to up the ante for a third time. Even though Köln have lost their last two games, they’re not in a crisis. They’re still in the hunt for Europe, they’re having a good season and they will certainly go into this game with a lot of belief. Peter Stöger has assembled a well put together team against whom it won’t be easy to get a result. They’re very compact and don’t let much through. And in Anthony Modeste, they have a very dangerous counter-attacking striker. We’re try to play good football and create chances. The outcome of the game for TSG – I won’t think about that until Sunday evening.

... the squad:

No one is definitely out, apart from Benni Hübner, who is suspended for the second time this season. Kevin Vogt is looking good and Pavel Kaderabek is finding a rhythm. Now we have to make sure his body is100% fit. The matches with the U23s did him good and I think he’ll be back to how he was before the injury very soon.

... the sporting situation:

I haven’t yet decided who’s going to play on Friday. In the final training session I’ll look at each player individually. Perhaps we’ll go with the same team as against Gladbach, or perhaps three new players will come into the team – who knows.

... the sporting situation II:

Obviously it’s easier to add players to the squad if we’re in Europe as it becomes easier to convince players to join. We’re also convinced, though, that we can bring players in that we want irrelevant of our position in the table. We’ll wait and see which new players we’ll be able to present to the fans.

 ... the sporting situation III:

I don’t think that the mindset of the team has changed as the season has gone on. Of course, the more games you win, the more self-confident you become. What we’re doing better now as opposed to in previous years is picking ourselves up after setbacks and carrying on. There’s hardly been a game where we haven’t pulled ourselves back after suffering a setback – this was evident again against Gladbach.  Last season we lost  a lot of games in the last few minutes, whereas this year, we’ve won a number of games in the closing stages.

.. the sporting situation IV:

I’m not putting too much pressure on the players that we must finish third for example. Of course, that would be nice and we will try to do that. We mustn’t underestimate where we’ve come from and we could lose our next few games, but this season would still have been an enormous plus for the club, for the region and for the team. It’s no secret that it’s the dream of every player and coach to play in the Champions League, but there’s still a long way to go until then. We want to maximize the current success. There are worse things in life than playing at the Bernabéu. 

PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

An unfortunate defeat and a clear victory. That was the story of the two games against Köln from this season. TSG were knocked out of the cup by the Rhineland side but gained their revenge in the league meeting. Nagelsmann’s team gave Köln zero chance in the 4-0 win. TSG’s last win at the RheinEnergieSTADION was a while ago, however. Hoffenheim won 4-0 there in in November 2009. The two teams have met on 13 previous occasions in the Bundesliga, with each team winning on four occasions with five draws.  

OPPONENT'S FORM:

Köln sit in seventh position in the Bundesliga, one point off Freiburg in sixth. Finishing in the top six would guarantee European football for the Rhinelanders. Köln still have a lot to play for, despite suffering defeats in their last two outings to Gladbach and Augsburg. They can rely on one man in particular, though, Anthony Modeste. The striker has scored 23 goals in 29 Bundesliga matches this season.

THE KEY BATTLE:

TSG will have to deal with Köln’s red-hot striker Anthony Modeste. He has scored 60% of Köln’s goals this season. Kevin Vogt, Niklas Süle and co will have to be wary of Modeste’s threat, however, the Hoffenheim defence has been strong this season.  Vogt has won 90.9% of his tackles in his 26 games this season. He also has a strong duel win percentage of 57.8%. Süle’s duel win percentage stands at 66.4%. Adam Szalai knows how strong Hoffenheim will have to be at the back: “We can’t afford to give him any room, but our coach will definitely have some good ideas for our defence.”

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