26-point target against Nürnberg

Nürnberg under pressure

"Nürnberg have lost their last four matches in a row and are under a lot of pressure", explained Ralf Rangnick as he analysed his opponents' situation. Of course no matter what the oppositions' predicament 1899 are still "playing for the win". Three points would see them take their season tally to 26 points and with only VfL Wolfsburg left to play before the break the Hoffenheim fans can be pleased with their teams' efforts in the first half of the season. For Nürnberg the story reads a little differently despite a similar start to 1899. They made great start to the season, by their standards, but have dropped off the pace in recent weeks. A win this weekend would see them cross the halfway mark on their way to the magical 40 point mark, so Hoffenheim will need to be wary of the threats they pose.

Weis and Vorsah set to miss out

Alongside the injured Tom Starke, Chinedu Obasi and Josip Simunic, Ralf Rangnick will also have to do without Tobias Weis and Isaac Vorsah. Weis was complaining of muscle problems in his thigh and took part in training sporadically during the week. Vorsah, on the other hand, was unsuccessful in his appeal against a two-match ban for the red card received against Stuttgart and is therefore suspended for the last two matches before the winter break. The vacant position left by the Ghanaian centre-back has left Rangnick with two options: "Either we'll play with Luiz Gustavo, like we did for 40 minutes against Stuttgart, or Matthias Jaissle." Whether he'll keep Gustavo out of position or bring in Jaissle is still unclear according to Rangnick. "How they performed in training will be the determining factor," stated the manager. Unfortunately for the German manager, it is still too early to bring back Josip Simunic, who would have been the ideal replacement.

Deceptive statistics

"Nürnberg are going to give it everything they've got to avoid a fifth defeat in a row", explains centre-back Marvin Compper, who seems to be the only consistent figure in Hoffenheim's backline, and he knows that it would be foolish to underestimate their opponents. Although Nürnberg might not be firing on all cylinders up front, their 18 goals sees them as the 3rd worst attack in the league, 1899's defense has to stay alert to the danger. "Even if Nürnberg play with just one man up front, players such as Gündogan, Ekici and Hegeler are just as capable of scoring from midfield", stated Compper. However, Nürnberg away record should give hope to 1899 fans as their opponents have played 8 matches, losing 4, winning 1 and drawing the other 3.