Wolfsburg at home: TSG's best ever start?

Three points on Saturday would signal Hoffenheim's best ever start to a domestic season. But that will ne not easy task against a newly-strengthened Wolfsburg side, which last week condemned Schalke 04, and ex-Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick, to their second defeat of the season. “Wolfsburg are a strong team, and have a dangerous attack. We heve to play with more caution, and defend tighter than we did against Mainz”, warned Stani. He remained tightlipped when quizzed about how his starting line-up was going to look. One candidate for a starting berth is Daniel Johnson, who starred on his debut against Mainz and set up Ryan Babel's second goal to make it 3.0. “I would be delighted if I was starting”, admitted Johnson at Thursday's press conference. The Karlsruhe-born midfielder could very well see his wish granted.

A growing injury list

Fabian Johnson is the latest player to suffer the injury curse afflicting Hoffenheim. The American international, born in Germany, suffered a slipped disc in training on Tuesday and will miss at least four weeks of the season. Sebastian Rudy and Dominik Kaiser are also rated as doubtful. “We will assume that they are fit enough to play,” said Stani. He would have liked to say the same for Sejad Salihovic. But the Bosnian midfielder hasn't yet recovered from the knee injury he suffered on international duty last week, and must watch the weekend's match from the bench. Also missing are Vedad Ibisevic, Tobias Weis, Boris Vukcevic, Manuel Gulde, Denis Thomalla and Matthias Jaissle, who had an operation on his heel in Basel today and faces eight to ten weeks out.

Tickets still available

Around 2,000 tickets are still available in the home section of the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar Arena. Demand for tickets in the away end is manageable, as only 180 tickets were sold in advance. There are still a further 3,000 tickets remaining for the away section. And for latecomers, tickets will be purchasable until two hours before kick-off. “We are hoping for a great atmosphere in the stadium”, said Stani.

Facts and stats

Hoffenheim's poor run against Mainz 05 was ended emphatically last Saturday. One week later and TSG have the opportunity to end another run of poor results. Four of the last five games against Wolfsburg have ended in defeat for Hoffenheim (with just one draw). Hoffenheim's only win came in the first Bundesliga meeting between the sides in November 2008, when 1899 won 3-2. Ryan Babel and Mario Mandzukic both netted a brace last time out in the league. For the Croat, it was the third time he had achieved the feat for Wolfsburg; for Babel it was a first as a Hoffenheim player.

Match facts and statistics »