FIRST TEAM
02/08/2018

Presser before #TSGM05: "Feeling great ahead of Saturday"

After last week’s draw with Hertha, TSG Hoffenheim will welcome Mainz to the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Saturday. Julian Nagelsmann previewed the game with Sandro Schwarz’s side on matchday 22.

Julian Nagelsmann on...

... the opponents.

“Mainz surprised us the first time we played them with the way they pressed us. We struggled a lot and the score was suddenly 2-0. We did very well to pull it back. I also saw them play in the cup last night against Frankfurt and took a few things away from the game. The score-line was too lopsided. They got around Frankfurt’s aggressive pressure by playing long balls over the top, and I don’t want to see too much of that against us. On Saturday, we’ll see if they’ll set up defensively or try to attack us and break us down. That’s what they normally do, although not against Leverkusen. I don’t think they’ll be tired after the cup game either, as Sandro Schwarz prepares his players well.”

... the squad.

“Mark Uth was finally pain-free on Wednesday. He trained with the rest of the team on Thursday, but it’s unlikely he’ll make an appearance on Saturday. We’ll have to see how he responds to taking part in two training sessions. I’ll then decide if he’s ready to be a part of the squad. Kerem Demirbay will obviously have to miss out. His injury is very unfortunate - for us but above all for him. He’s a very important player for us, but we’ll be without him for a while. We have to replace him and we will replace him. The most important thing is that Kerem takes the time he needs to recover and only return when he’s fully ready to.

... the sporting situation.

“We’ve had one of the best weeks of training this year so far this week. I hope that continues on Thursday and Friday and that we can replicate this performance on the field. The boys were highly focused this week and scored a lot of goals as well. So I’m feeling good ahead of Saturday - we want to get all three points.”

Head to head

These two sides have met each other 17 times in the Bundesliga to this point, with TSG winning five times, Mainz seven times and seven games ending in draws. The poor record can mostly be put down to the earlier matches between the two - when Mainz won the first four games and five of the first seven. TSG have lost only once in the last seven, however, drawing twice and winning four times. In the last game, Hoffenheim ended up winning 3-2, despite Mainz running out to a 2-0 lead. Mark Uth scored the winner in added time.

The opponent’s form

Mainz have lost three of their four Bundesliga games in 2018, although they did beat VfB Stuttgart at home 3-2. Mainz have been inconsistent. The most infuriating result by far was the loss to Hannover. Mainz jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, before they eventually lost 3-2. On top of that, Mainz also lost to Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. Mainz played very well against Bayern though, but their performance in the midweek against Frankfurt was littered with mistakes and errors.

The key battle

Set-pieces could be what separates the sides on Saturday. Both teams have scored ten goals from such situations in the league so far this season - good enough for tenth place. But why are they important otherwise? Mainz have shown clear deficiencies when defending them, conceding 18 goals - the most in the entire league. Eight have come from corners. TSG have scored five goals from corners themselves so far this campaign - fifth best in the league.

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