Matarazzo: “We’ll tackle it together”

Pellegrino Matarazzo on…

…the third game against Dortmund: “We know how challenging it is to win in Dortmund. They have great individual quality. It’s down to us how we perform. We believe we have a chance. We’ve looked good in both previous games against Dortmund and now we want to get something tangible. Third time’s the charm.”

…the favourites tag on Sunday: “Perhaps it will suit us that we are not the favourites. We recently chose to take the approach of using the frustration of the past few weeks as energy. That unfortunately didn’t lead to a win. We want the players to feel liberated and to give them an openness for the match without easing up.”

…training this week: “The atmosphere and energy in training have been good. The boys put in a good performance. Everyone is on board and ready to give their all. We’ll tackle it together.”

…Benjamin Hübner: “I’ve known Benni since he was a ball boy during my time as a player for SV Wehen-Wiesbaden. He doesn’t have a coaching licence, but you can tell that he can combine the analytical with the emotional. I’m delighted that he will be joining our coaching staff.”

…Max Moerstedt: “His development is very positive. He keeps showing signs of his potential in training. I’m not ruling out the possibility that he’ll play in the second half of the season. It’s a vindication of the approach TSG is taking. Two boys from the academy have become regular players this season. That’s a sign of outstanding work. Everyone involved has real power. We have 10 players in the squad who have come through our academy. That’s an extremely high number.”

…the absence of Grischa Prömel: “Grischa plays an important role for us. He assumes a lot of responsibility and is extremely hard-running. Unfortunately, he is out for several weeks. We want to compensate for that as a team.”

The personnel situation:

Marius Bülter, Tom Bischof, Kevin Akpoguma and Robert Skov are doubtful. Grischa Prömel suffered an injury to his medial collateral ligament last week and will join the long-term injury absentees Mergim Berisha and Marco John on the sidelines. Bambasé Conté will miss out through illness, while Stanley Nsoki is suspended.

The opposition’s form:

Borussia Dortmund are still unbeaten this calendar year, but have generally fallen short of their own expectations this season. BVB are in fourth position with 41 points on the board. During the week, coach Edin Terzic’s team were held to a 1-1 draw away to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

Head-to-head record:

TSG Hoffenheim have previously celebrated major successes in Dortmund such as the 2-1 win in 2013 and the 4-0 victory in 2020. But TSG have lost each of their last six meetings with BVB and have not claimed a victory against Dortmund for four years.