Kevin Volland: "It's time to beat Augsburg"

The attacker sat next to manager Markus Gisdol on the podium and answered questions from journalists. The 21 year old settled all transfer speculation. “I will play for Hoffenheim next season. The sporting environment suits me and I can develop best here. Therefore I am here for the long term. There have never been any doubts surrounding my decision”.

He also discussed the attitude of the team before the match against their neighbours in the table. “We are in good form and our place in the table speaks for itself. The finish line is in sight for a worry free season, but we don't want to let it slip from us. We want to get the maximum out of every game.”

"Keep on playing our football"

Markus Gisdol shared Volland's sentiments: “We are incredibly ambitious. We want to keep on playing positively and keep on playing our football. We want to take as much as possible from every training session and every game. We want three points in front of our home fans.”

We can also appreciate both strengths of Augsburg. “Augsburg work very well when they don't have the ball, but they can also play good football” explained Volland. Gisdol added: “They have had a very stable season and have improved strength upon strength after a good end to last season.”

Schipplock & Abraham miss out again

His team face a growing side, where “individuals always stand out”. “This is a real challenge, but we have always delivered lots of good home matches and victories which come with them”, said the manager.

As for the visitors, who sent champions Bayern home pointless last weekend, Gisdol has to do without two key players. Due to a damaged nerve, Sven Schipplock was unable to train with the team and David Abraham is once again in team training, but Saturday's match comes too soon for him. Gisdol plans to play the Argentinean centre back next week against Bremen.

Gisdol is unsure about Anthony Modeste, who picked up an injury in the away match against FC Bayern. “He could regain his place in the side”. Jens Grahl was also wounded after the match in Munich. Despite being fit, he is touch and go. He has been training since Thursday.

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