Our next opponents Hoffenheim: Strong up front despite rotation

Position

In the end, it turned out be a clearer result than looked likely for much of the game. In spite of having the extra man for almost the entire 90 minutes, Hoffenheim found it hard-going against the ten men of Stuttgart in the Baden-Württemberg derby at the weekend. The fact it ended in a 4-0 victory is down to the impressive strength of TSG in recent weeks: Hoffenheim scored three against FC Nürnberg as they did against Lyon in the Champions League. In spite of frequent rotation, the attack is running like clockwork in Sinsheim. The team coached by Julian Nagelsmann have moved up the table after an indifferent start to the season and ahead of the game against the Werkself they are eighth on 13 points. In the Champions League, for the first time in TSG's history, Hoffenheim are without a win after draws against Shakhtar and Lyon plus a home defeat against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City but they have shown they can compete with the big clubs in European football. The DFB Cup campaign ended for TSG this week with a 2-0 defeat away to RB  Leipzig .

personnel

With involvement in three competitions this season, Nagelsmann has regularly rotated his team –  also because he has options in nearly every position with Hoffenheim having a very balanced squad. The only players to have regular starts are goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, captain Kevin Vogt, midfield enforcer Florian Grillitsch and right-back Pavel Kaderabek – although this quartet of pros have also been rested at times. The rotation policy adopted by Nagelsmann does give players a chance to shine when they are not expected to be part of the team. The 18-year-old Englishman Reiss Nelson (pictured above) has recently come up trumps. The winger was signed from Arsenal on the last day of the transfer window and he has impressed in the Bundesliga with four goals in five games. And  Joshua Brenet, also a new signing, has also shone recently. In the left-back position, the Dutchman normally acts as the back-up for Germany international Nico Schulz but he has had his chances scoring three goals in six games in spite of playing as a defender. There are as many options as there are question marks over Nagelsmann's line-ups. Ahead of the game against the Werkself it remains to be seen who the 31-year-old will start.

Problems

Several players are unavailable for the starting eleven against Leverkusen – even though Nagelsmann would rather they were. Above all, the loss of  central defender Benjamin Hübner with his aerial strength is a heavy blow. The 29-year-old has not played yet this season and he would definitely be able to help stiffen up the TSG defence. And homegrown Nadiem Amiri is also very much missed with the U21 international sidelined for several weeks with a stress fracture to his foot. As with Amiri, Lukas Rupp and Dennis Geiger are also long-term injuries and that means Nagelsmann does not currently have  the option to rotate in central midfield. There is no obvious alternative for the Austrian Grillitsch in holding midfield as Kerem Demirbay is not yet been able to play a full 90 minutes following a long injury lay-off. Nagelsmann recently gave central striker Andrej Kramaric the role of playmaker. In spite of having a big squad there is still a need for a creative solution in this position.

Potential

For obvious reasons: Money worries have never been a real issue for the ten years TSG have been in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, there was great pleasure at Hoffenheim when the figures for last season were published on Monday: Record turnover, record profit – of course, also because TSG had increased income through the first participation in the Europa League. Given the fact Hoffenheim are currrently in the Champions League, it is likely the profits will increase in the coming year and that will put the club on the right track in the future. The position of coach is another question: Winning manager Nagelsmann is set to leave Hoffenheim in the summer to go to RB Leipzig and his successor has yet to be named – and that also leaves the question unanswered of the future sporting direction of the club.

Prediction

Nagelsmann is looking to make the most of his last sesson at Hoffenheim. Before the season he announced he wanted to challenge FC Bayern with his team. Whether or not that will work mainly depends on how Hoffenheim deal with playing in the different competitions if the team are still in Europe after the winter break. As with last season, the race for a Champions League spot is more realistic than a challenge for the league title at the moment. Hoffenheim were successful in that respect – and the quality to do that again is evident.