Hoeness: "We're looking forwards"

Sebastian Hoeness on…

…the personnel situation: "There hasn't been much change compared to the Stuttgart game. Christoph Baumgartner suffered a dead leg; we need to see how he copes with training. Oliver Baumann was given a breather during the week but will be involved on Sunday. Mijat Gaćinović has returned to team training. That's good news."

…the opponent: "They've undergone a very positive development. They're recently had that little bit of luck on their side in the form of some late goals, but they're on a very good track. Mainz 05 work hard off the ball – and they're currently being rewarded for that with good results. It'll be a tough task for us. We hope we can swing the game in our favour."

…his impressions of training: "My team has performed very positively in training. We were obviously disappointed and would've liked to win. We're looking forwards. We want to win against Mainz to be in a position to really go for it after the international break. The team is incredibly motivated. We want to be hunters and to climb up the table."

…the upcoming international break: "We obviously hope that everything goes well. We're hopeful that all hygiene concepts will be implemented. The lads want to play for their countries and put themselves in the shop window for the European Championships."

The opposition's form:

Things have been going well since Bo Svensson was appointed Mainz boss: the Zero-Fivers have picked up 14 points in the second half-season under the Dane and already have more points than they amassed in the entire first half-season (seven). The recent results have seen them close the gap to the non-relegation berths.

Head-to-head record:

TSG Hoffenheim and 1. FSV Mainz 05 have faced off in the Bundesliga on 23 previous occasions. Mainz have the upper hand historically, with nine wins, seven draws and seven defeats. The reverse fixture this season ended 1-1.

Match facts and statistics »