Schreuder: "The lads are hungry and raring to go"

Alfred Schreuder on…

…the personnel situation: "It's not looking too good for Andrej Kramarić. I don't think he'll be involved in Cologne. It's nothing serious but he needs one or two weeks out to regain his fitness. Diadie Samassékou has a big chance of making the squad tomorrow. But the full 90 minutes can be ruled out after his long spell out injured."

…the mood in the camp following the recent run: "We're still feeling the same things we were two, three weeks ago. The lads are still hungry and raring to go. That's extremely important for a coach. Lots of players have featured in the last two matches and we've proven that our squad has good strength in depth."

…the match in Cologne: "We don't need to win the game but we obviously want to. We'll perform with confidence and play our own game. We need to focus on ourselves. We need to direct all our time and energy on that. Focusing solely on your opponent doesn't get you anywhere."

…the cup draw: "The draw could've obviously been kinder. But we want to go to Berlin and to do that we'll need to beat FC Bayern. We've already managed that this year. We're confident that we can do so again."

Social media fan question of the week:

Maximilian Beier was included in the matchday squad for the first time against Paderborn, while Noah Botic has impressed at the U17 World Cup. How do you assess the development in the academy?

"I won't talk about individual players but we believe the TSG academy's development is very positive. The coaches are doing a very good job. We're in constant communication. In addition, players from the U19s and U23s train with us from time to time. For us, it's very important that communication with the academy works well."

The opposition's form:

Coach Achim Beierlorzer's charges have lost on each of their last three competitive outings, exiting the DFB Cup at the second-round stage and dropping down to 17th place in the Bundesliga table.

Head-to-head record:

TSG Hoffenheim have an excellent recent record against 1. FC Cologne in the Bundesliga: they are currently on a six-match unbeaten streak against the Billy Goats in the league (three wins and three draws). They have a positive overall record too, with six wins, six draws and four defeats against Cologne in the German top flight.

Match facts and statistics »