Hoffenheim host Borussia Dortmund as the 2020-21 Bundesliga season resumes following the international break, with both sides level on six points after two wins and a loss in each of their opening three matches.
BVB have failed to beat their forthcoming opponents in the last five meetings between the two sides, with Hoffenheim winning three of those matches.
Match preview
Die Kraichgauer stunned the world on matchday two with a sensational 4-1 win against the reigning Bundesliga and European champions Bayern Munich. The defeat was only Hansi Flick's third in all competitions since replacing Nico Kovac last November, and his first in the whole of 2020.
It would have been a particularly satisfying victory for Sebastian Hoeness, who left his role as Bayern's reserve team manager to become Hoffenheim's head coach at the end of July.
He certainly seems to be getting the best out of Croatian forward Andrej Kramaric, who currently leads the Bundesliga top goalscorer chart on six goals having scored a brace against Bayern, a hat-trick in the opening day 3-2 win at FC Koln, and the opening goal in a 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt prior to the international break.
Hoeness and Kramaric will both be hoping their side can build on last season's sixth-placed finish, which ensured the club will be playing in the Europa League group stage this campaign.
They will be quietly confident of causing another stir having won this fixture 4-0 on the final day of last season, with Kramaric incredibly scoring all four goals that day.
Dortmund, meanwhile, qualified for the Champions League for the fifth successive season after finishing second to Bayern last campaign.
Lucien Favre will be hoping to guide the club to their first domestic title since Jurgen Klopp's 2011-12 side won their second Bundesliga title in a row. As always, however, they face a tall order in attempting to overthrow a Bayern side who have astonishingly won eight consecutive titles and look stronger than ever.
BVB were unlucky in defeat to their Bavarian rivals in the recent DFL Super Cup, with Joshua Kimmich's rather fortuitous late goal securing a 3-2 win after Dortmund had valiantly fought back from 2-0 down.
In the league, a disappointing 2-0 loss at Augsburg was sandwiched by convincing 3-0 and 4-0 home victories over Borussia Monchengladbach and SC Freiburg respectively. Favre will be hoping the away form, which has been inconsistent in recent seasons, improves quickly.
One man who has certainly not been inconsistent in any shape or form since joining the club in January is Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland, who is currently one behind Robert Lewandowski and two behind Kramaric on four league goals this season in the race to be top goalscorer.
Hoffenheim Bundesliga form: WWL
Hoffenheim form (all competitions): DWWL
Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form: WLW
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions): WWLLW
Team News
Captain Benjamin Hubner, Kostas Stafylidis and Ermin Bicakcic are out through injury for the hosts, but Maximilian Beier and Havard Nordtveit should recover to compete for a place on the bench having been absent in recent weeks.
Sebastian Rudy could be in line to make his third debut for the club, having re-joined permanently from Schalke 04, with Hoeness potentially shaking things up a little after the defeat at Frankfurt.
Jadon Sancho should return to Favre's starting XI having missed the matches against Bayern and Freiburg due to illness. The England international came on as a substitute in the Three Lions' two Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark earlier this week.
Marcel Schmelzer, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Manuel Akanji are out for the visitors, leaving them somewhat short in defence, while Thorgan Hazard remains sidelined. Teenage sensation Giovanni Reyna, who assisted three goals in the win over Freiburg, should join Sancho and Haaland in attack with Marco Reus still not quite at full fitness.
Young England midfielder Jude Bellingham is likely to partner Axel Witsel in midfield, with former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can continuing in defence.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Posch, Vogt, Akpoguma; Kaderabek, Geiger, Rudy, Skov; Baumgartner; Dabour, Kramaric
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki; Piszczek, Hummels, Can; Meunier, Bellingham, Witsel, Guerreiro; Sancho, Haaland, Reyna
We say: Hoffenheim 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
With two of the best strikers in the division on display and both sides missing key central defenders, we can reasonably expect to see a few goals at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.
Given Hoffenheim's stunning win over Bayern and their excellent form against Dortmund in recent years, it would be no surprise to see the hosts avoid defeat once again in what will hopefully be an entertaining and even affair.
