Nagelsmann: "We need to deliver more stable results"

Julian Nagelsmann on…

…the personnel situation at TSG: "The personnel situation looks a bit better. Aside from Dennis Geiger, who's been operated, and Kerem Demirbay, everyone has returned to training and been able to showcase themselves. We'll see who is capable of playing on Sunday. We'll have to wait and see over the next two days. Lukas Rupp has resumed training but won't be in the squad. However, he has made a very good impression. It's a positive to see players returning to the squad and it gives us more alternatives."

…the chances of replicating last season's successful run: "In theory, it's possible to produce a similar run to the one we put together in the second half of last season. But it's important that the injured players return, so that we can give a bit more gusto in training and matches. We do not need to talk about a points target for the coming weeks. We need to deliver stable results."

…the mental preparation after the Frankfurt match: "I'm not a fan of delving too much into the mental side of things. Even with 10 men, we could've defended the goals we conceded better. It's not always a case of simply being unlucky. Obviously we've not had too much in the way of luck this season, but nor have we had too much bad luck. I've conducted a substantive analysis so that there is no repeat of what happened in Frankfurt."

…1. FC Nuremberg: "I felt they were more stable in the first half of the season than they are now. Their season isn't going the way they want. Under the new coach Boris Schommers, they've stabilised defensively and not given away too many chances. I've known Boris for some time now. He's an intelligent coach. They know that they need to win the game, so it could be that they play more offensively than they have in recent weeks."

The social media fan question of the week:

To what extent has your degree, Sport and Applied Training Sciences, helped you in your career up until now?

"It's obviously a good thing that you acquire a fundamental understanding in your degree. It makes sense to do a degree or a training programme in a field in which you want to work later on. But I believe I could've become a Bundesliga coach without the degree too."

The opposition's form:

A poor run of form in which Nuremberg have failed to win a single one of their last 18 Bundesliga matches has seen them drop to bottom of the table. Their last result was a 1-0 defeat to RB Leipzig.

Head-to-head record:

The two teams have squared off in the Bundesliga on 11 occasions. TSG have the superior head-to-head record, with five wins, three draws and three defeats. Hoffenheim won the reverse fixture 3-1.

Match facts and statistics »