Breitenreiter: "The team acts as a unit"

TSG will travel away to Hertha BSC on Sunday (15:30 CET/Live Ticker at tsg-hoffenheim.de). Hoffenheim will be looking to build on their successful start to the season before the international break and pick up their next points. At the press conference, head coach André Breitenreiter spoke about the opposition, the improved defence and his birthday wishes.

André Breitenreiter on…

…the opposition: "Hertha are a team that have reinvented themselves. They play very intensively and wait for the opponent to lose the ball so they can transition at speed. They are currently the best counter-attacking team in the league. We need to be ready for that."

…the game on Sunday: "We want to restart successfully after the break. The players returned from their trips at different times. We want to use the time to ensure our boys are fresh for Sunday. We mustn't be passive and want to play our positional game so that we continue to be versatile. Then we will create enough goalscoring opportunities too."

…the international period: "The lads have all returned fit. Some players played as recently as Tuesday and have only trained with us selectively so far. But we still have time before Sunday. Almost all our players performed well. For example, Andrej Kramarić qualified for the Final Four of the Nations League."

…the lower number of goals conceded: "The defensive work begins with our strikers. We give away very few major chances. That represents significant progress compared to last season. That was very important to us during pre-season. In addition, we've not conceded a goal on the counter yet. The team acts as a unit on the pitch and shows a lot of heart out there. That's the only way it will work."

…his birthday on Sunday: "It would obviously be nice if the lads come away with three points and get the win for me on my birthday."

The personnel situation:

With the exception of Ihlas Bebou (knee problems), Ermin Bičakčić (training backlog) and Benjamin Hübner (ankle injury), TSG have a full complement of players after the international break. Sebastian Rudy can play wearing a splint on his arm.

The opposition's form:

Hertha are very much on an upward trajectory, having picked up five points from their last three matches. With six points in total, the men from Berlin occupy 13th place in the table ahead of Matchday 8.

Head-to-head record:

TSG Hoffenheim have the significantly better head-to-head record. The Kraichgau club have won 12 of their previous 24 meetings (plus five draws and seven defeats). But TSG fans will not have fond memories of the last away game at the Olympiastadion, which Hertha won 3-0 in March 2022.