#SCFTSG Preview: "Playing against good footballers is hard"

JULIAN NAGELSMANN ON...

... the opponent:

Freiburg is a good team with a very good coach. Christian Streich is doing a great job there and I imagine him as a coach and a person who thinks clearly not just about football, but about everything. His team is tactically adaptable and he often directs his focus towards the opponent. He has a nice mix of young, hungry and experienced players in his team, who all play with great quality. They have a lot of good players, good footballers and playing against good footballers is hard. That makes them very dangerous and they create a special atmosphere in their stadium. Personally, I think they could have more points than they already have.

... personnel:

Jeremy Toljan has carried out full training this week. He’s obviously further with his training than he was a week ago and a real possibility for the weekend. Other than that, the rest of the players who are missing were also missing against Ingolstadt: Mark Uth, Lukas Rupp, Pavel Kaderabek and Fabian Schär. Fabi and Lukas are the furthest along of these four. I’m hoping that they can fully, or at least partially, rejoin first-team training in the coming week. Mark and Pavel will need a little longer. Pavel tore his calf and can only walk at the moment. Mark has a cartilage issue and, therefore, we have to be careful with him.

... recent events I:

I wasn’t expecting a 6-1 in Barcelona on Wednesday evening, but Christian Streich probably wasn’t either. The game on Saturday doesn’t need to be that crazy, a nice game will do! 

... recent events II:

We want to use the remaining games this season to cement what we’ve done to this point. In the attacking third we still have a bit to prove. In the last few weeks we’ve been better in this respect, but in a few games in the second half of the season we’ve had a lot of ball possession, but haven’t carried enough of a goal threat. We were keeping the ball for the sake of it. We need to be more attacking. We need to be better as soon as we win the ball. We need to take advantage of situations and outnumber the opposition when they give the ball away. Too often, when we already have the lead, we control possession but don’t do enough with it. There’s potential for more. 

PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

After 13 Bundesliga games between Hoffenheim and Freiburg, the head-to-head record is completely level. Both teams have three wins to their name against the other, with seven draws. Hoffenheim haven’t recorded so many draws against any other team. The recent meetings between the sides have been more profitable for TSG – they haven’t lost to Freiburg since September 2012. Since then, against Freiburg, there have been two wins for Hoffenheim and four draws. Julian Nagelsmann’s team won the last meeting between the sides earlier on in the season. Goals from Sandro Wagner and Andrej Kramaric gave Hoffenheim a 2-1 win.

OPPONENT'S FORM:

Freiburg have regularly collected points this season and haven’t dropped lower than 12th in the table since the start of the season. Their position in the table has been a single digit since the 16th matchday. They’ve collected seven points from their last five games, including a victory of Eintracht Frankfurt in their last game. Christian Streich’s team is playing well.

THE KEY BATTLE:

TSG like to play their football on the ground, control the game, have lots of possession and look to dominate the opposition. However, TSG can also adapt their game. Julian Nagelsmann’s side like to cross the ball and have scored ten headers already this season and win 52.1% of their aerial duals. This is one area where Hoffenheim should have an advantage over Freiburg, as the home side only win 47.3% of their headers and have scored just two headed goals this season.

Match facts and statistics »