Nagelsmann: "We cannot sit back and relax"

Julian Nagelsmann on…

…the personnel situation: "Kevin Vogt is fit again and has resumed normal training. He'll be able to play. Kasim Adams is also fit and a candidate for the starting XI. I expect Joelinton will be able to play. He trained separately today but everything was okay. Ermin Bicakcic will definitely miss out, however."

…the change of coaches at Hannover: "It's too early to precisely determine what changes there have been under Thomas Doll. The two previous games under his tutelage were played with different formations. I'm excited to see what system they'll go with on Saturday. I don't care at what point in time we play against Hannover. We're well-prepared."

…the match on Saturday: "I don't think that we'll underestimate Hannover. We don't have any statistics that allow us to think we can sit back and relax. That should not be in our heads. I'm confident that we can achieve a positive outcome in the match on Saturday."

…Ishak Belfodil: "It was his best week of training to date. You could see that there's a weight off his shoulders. He's played in almost every match but the situation still wasn't easy for him, because there were always a lot of changes in attack. We had a very good discussion. I'm operating under the assumption that he'll start on Saturday."

The social media fan question of the week

What would Julian Nagelsmann the coach say to Julian Nagelsmann the player?

"'Be a little bit more aware of your body'. I didn't do that enough as a player, partly because we didn't have the opportunities than now exist. And: 'Don't overthink things.'"

The opposition's form:

Hannover picked up their first Bundesliga victory – a 2-0 win over relegation rivals 1. FC Nuremberg – in three months last weekend. The result saw coach Thomas Doll's side climb to 17th place in the table.

Head-to-head record:

Hannover 96 are TSG's favourite foe. Hoffenheim have won 12 of their previous 19 meetings with the men from Lower Saxony (five defeats and two draws). There's no other club that "Hoffe" have a better record against. In Sinsheim, they are unbeaten in nine games against the 96ers (W7 D2).

Match facts and statistics »