Schreuder: "Our team will react superbly"

Alfred Schreuder on…

…the personnel situation:

"Dennis Geiger is fit again. Andrej Kramarić has trained well this week, there's been no reaction from his knee. Things are looking very good. If he continues to train like this, he'll certainly be in the starting XI because he's a top player for us. When he plays, that also means there's more space for other players."

…possible changes to the starting XI:

"I'm not the kind of coach to make quick changes. The players I've fielded to date have performed very well. But equally you have to take the lads' physical condition into consideration. Let's see how Sargis Adamyan and Ilhas Bebou are feeling. Normally there's not much that needs changing in the team, but others could obviously play too. Diadie Samassékou is another who is doing very well in training. Our squad has strength in depth. When the moment is right, other players will get their chance too."

…the reasons for the defeat against Mainz:

"Neither we nor the players did a good job. But the past two months have been very good. We must always focus on our strengths. And they are the fact that we're very disciplined, that we perform very well as a team on the pitch and that we all work selflessly. The team became a tad unsure of themselves after conceding the second goal against Mainz. You could sense that. In the team meeting, we said that we hadn't conceded a single goal on the counter-attack all season but then let in two or three against Mainz. That's now dealt with. We know what makes us strong. The players have demonstrated that in training. We're looking forward to the match."

…how the team meeting is conducted:

"We analyse the match together. Even when we've played well, we're critical. We were especially criticial following the game against Mainz. For me, it's also very interesting to discover how the players themselves felt out there on the pitch. We've taken a look at the most important passages of play together and recognised what we did poorly during the second period. Psychology isn't part of that. We can't allow ourselves to be distracted by a setback."

…the situation at Fortuna Düsseldorf:

"They've been doing a very good job in the Bundesliga for one and a half seasons now. They're very disciplined and they play with a lot of passion. The fact that they stayed in the Bundesliga last season was almost like a title for them. The players form a really good team; they know their strengths and weaknesses, they fight and they have a superb striker in Rouwen Hennings. The team has a strong mentality. We're looking forward to the match against Düsseldorf, but it won't be easy; it'll be a very intense match."

…facing Kasim Adams:

"Kasim is playing almost every week, that's very good for him. He has ups and downs, but overall he's doing well. He's playing as the left-sided centre-back, although he would probably prefer to be playing on the right side. I think that everyone has a positive impression of Kasim's development."

The social media fan question of the week:

"I don't need to motivate myself much in the lead-up to a game, it's my job. My motivation as a coach is to be successful and achieve something with a group of young players. That's actually my biggest motivation: bringing people together and being successful together. Everyone in the group has different qualities, plus there are different nationalities and mentalities in the squad too. What spurs me on and is fun for me is to try to bring them all together and to build them into a successful team."

The opposition's form:

Fortuna Düsseldorf suffered a heavy home defeat of their own last weekend as they went down 4-0 to FC Bayern Munich. The result saw the men from the Rhineland fall to 16th – the relegation play-off place – and they find themselves in the drop zone for the first time this season. In their last away game, however, Friedhelm Funkel's charges held FC Schalke 04 to a 3-3 draw.

Head-to-head record:

The two clubs have faced off in the Bundesliga on four previous occasions. The head-to-head record is totally even with one win apiece and two draws. In terms of goals, Hoffenheim lead Düsseldorf 6-4. The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

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