...INJURY REPORT

Michael Esser, Moritz-Broni Kwarteng, Niclas Thiede and Mohammed Tolba are still not available. Unfortunately, Tim Oermann is ill. Takuma Asano, on the other hand, is fit again and will be there. Christopher Antwi-Adjei and Patrick Osterhage are missing due to suspension. All other players are ready to play.

…PREPARATION

It was important to communicate certain topics openly and honestly. We did that to initiate processes. Everything has to be on the table. We did that – in a wide variety of constellations. Hopefully we will see the results in the next few weeks. The team is absolutely willing and knows what situation we are in and what we have to do to get the necessary points. We have clearly discussed that the training work is the basis. Even in training, we have to be highly concentrated from the first minute and do everything we can to reach 100 percent. This week's training sessions went the way I imagine as a coach.

…HOFFENHEIM

We assume that Hoffenheim will play with a back three. But we are also prepared for all other eventualities. We know what makes Hoffenheim strong, but we also know what we can do. We have emphasised this in the last few weeks and paid greater attention to our strengths. At times things looked good in Wolfsburg. Afterwards, we addressed some things with a critical tone, and that is also important. Andrej Kramarić is a very good player. He is very agile and has an uncanny nose for good spaces. He is clearly the key player at Hoffenheim. But we are very well prepared and know what we can do about it. But of course Kramaric is a player who can decide a game like that. You saw that in the last game. We have come up with a plan.

…ABOUT THE MATCH

The excitement is huge. The atmosphere on a Friday night in Bochum is special. I'm not interested in the rest of the fixture list, just the game in Bochum. Bochum are in the relegation zone, they will definitely be a tough team for us to go up against. In the reverse fixture, we scored a lot of goals in line with our game plan. However, the decisive factor in this one will not be tactics, but rather the decisions we make. Whether we play to their strengths or find solutions to play to our strengths. We also have to be intense in the one-on-one battles.

…ROTATION

Heiko Butscher already announced when he took charge that he didn't want to change much. Their fundamental approach has changed somewhat, but they are currently mainly focused on bringing passion and energy onto the pitch. They are capable of putting an opposing team under extreme pressure. We need maturity to hold firm.

…WOUT WEGHORST

Wout has put in some of his best performances for us in recent weeks. He is a leading player, who is always proactive and does all he can to play at his best level. He always gives one-hundred percent. That's why his form has been on the up recently.

...INJURY REPORT

In addition to the two long-term absentees Marco John and Mergim Berisha, Stanley Nsoki is still missing due to hip problems. Dennis Geiger is also unavailable, while Bambasé Conté is absent due to illness.