FIRST TEAM
10/03/2013

Gisdol and Volland: Mainz will be our most difficult game

On Saturday at 15:30 CET, Hoffenheim travel to the Coface Arena to take on Mainz 05. In the pre-match press conference, Markus Gisdol and Kevin Volland shared the same opinion: “Mainz will be our most difficult game.” The old football saying “the next game is always the hardest” doesn't play a role in that thought process though.

Gisdol thought back to the game against VfB Stuttgart on matchday 4. Back then, TSG faced a side who were in crisis, but nevertheless, Stuttgart won convincingly in front of their home crowd. A similar situation awaits on Saturday in Mainz – the hosts have lost four league games in a row for the first time under Thomas Tuchel. The atmosphere within the squad has certainly dropped since their opening three wins at the start of the season. “Mainz certainly have their backs to the wall,” explained Gisdol and added: “It's very rare for things to not be going their way. We will have to put up a lot of resistance there and build up the necessary anticipation ahead of the game.”

Attacker Volland felt the same: “Mainz can be very dangerous. We have to be ready for everything and give it our all. The aim is to be more structured at the back and allow less through than in the last game. That's a task for the whole team.”

The goal difference will fall into place

Markus Gisdol watched Borussia Dortmund's Champions League match against Olympique Marseille on Tuesday evening and saw things that he'd like to see his side develop in time. “It is possible to bear down on the opposition's penalty area with five or six players and avoid being caught on the counter. That's what we're working on and we'll take the necessary time to do it.”

His side's strengths should come into play once again against Mainz – TSG have scored 18 goals so far this season. “We're very good at switching from defending to attacking; we're creating a lot of chances and scoring a lot of goals,” explained Gisdol. On the other hand, Hoffenheim have also conceded 18 goals. “A goal record of 70:70 at the end of the season would be thrilling but it will all fall into place over the course of the campaign,” said the manager with a smile. “If we had a goal record of 18:5, then we would be in a position in the table where we don't really belong.” Being humble, down-to-earth and modest are attributes that the manager will hope to see in his team during their encounter in Mainz.

Gisdol will almost have a full squad to choose from for the game. Eugen Polanski, who suffered a dead leg during the week, completed a full training session on Thursday and is expected to be fit. The only real question mark surrounds Fabian Johnson – his inclusion is “more than doubtful,” according to Gisdol. The left back is suffering from a bruised ankle that he picked up in the match against Schalke.

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