Markus Gisdol:
“Time to try new things”

Markus Gisdol on…

…the opponents:

Recent matches between VfB and TSG have been exciting encounters – sometimes they've come out on top, sometimes we have. Despite only being about three points at the end of the day, there's always some feistiness in this fixture. VfB are a good side with a very strong attack and certainly shouldn't be underestimated. It's easy to be fooled by their results so far, although it is difficult to put your finger on Stuttgart. They played well against Gladbach and looked good against Köln as well. They have lots of quality in the final third which is a cause for concern.

…the squad:

Only 13 outfield players could train on Tuesday. Right now it's not clear which of the injured players will have recovered in time for the game. I certainly won't be selecting players who aren't fully fit for the match. We definitively know Ermin Bicakcic's situation. His thigh injury is going to rule him out of the derby. We have big doubts over Sejad Salihovic's participation because of the wound on his knee. Adam Szalai is struggling with tonsillitis. We don't know whether he will recover in time for the match on Saturday. Kevin Volland has only trained twice this week because of his back complaint.

…the current situation at TSG:

You always have to try a few new things on the pitch when you have so many injuries in the squad. It is possible that we will field a team on Saturday that doesn't have much experience of playing together. I can't decide much about tactics and personnel currently as there are still too many doubts.

Past meetings:

This will be TSG's seventh Bundesliga trip to the Mercedes Benz-Arena for the Baden-Württemberg derby. The last meeting between the two sides at home will still be in the memory of the Hoffenheim fans. Hoffenheim lost 6-2 in Stuttgart in the first half of the season, but the shoe was on the other foot after the winter break. A fired-up TSG left VfB with no chance and won 4-1 in the end. However, the statistics show that Stuttgart have come out on top in six of the twelve top-flight meetings between the two teams. TSG have only beaten their neighbours twice, whilst they have drawn on four occasions.

The opponents:

Those involved with Stuttgart knew that there was no way Armin Veh could produce a repeat of their 2007 title winning campaign having almost been relegated last season. The VfB manager warned before the season started about getting their hopes up. Instead, the focus was put on avoiding the relegation places. However, the season hasn't started very well: They have only collected one point from three games, they lie 17th in the table and they were knocked out of the DFB Cup in the first round by VfL Bochum (2-0).

The key battles:

TSG will have to be very alert in the first quarter of an hour as Stuttgart can be very effective going forward at the beginning of the game, as they showed last season. They scored a total of 12 goals in the first 15 minutes of games in 2013/14 - the best in the league after Hoffenheim. The statistics also show that they're also particularly threatening from corners, as Stuttgart scored the most goals from corners kicks in the league last season (10).

Match facts and statistics »