Struggling Hoffenheim and VfL Bochum are separated by two places in the Bundesliga table heading into Saturday's gameweek seven meeting at PreZero Arena.
Only one victory has been secured from a combined 12 played by both clubs, with the bottom-placed visitors winless heading into the campaign's seventh round.
Match preview
Despite finishing a respectable seventh last season, Hoffenheim have had a disappointing start to the current campaign, finding themselves third from bottom after six games.
In spite of their below-par start, Pellegrino Matarazzo's men went into the international break following a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League and a point against last season's high-flying Stuttgart in the German top division.
It could have been all three points against Sebastian Hoeness' men, but Ermedin Demirovic levelled deep into second-half stoppage time to cancel Valentin Gendrey's goal just before the interlude.
Supporters will hope the hiatus has not come at the wrong time for a side that looked to be turning the corner, and the hosts hope to notch consecutive victories on home soil in all competitions to follow that Europa League triumph and their first in the Bundesliga since gameweek one's 3-2 triumph over promoted Holstein Kiel.
Success for Hoffenheim could take the 16th-placed side as high as 12th, although that eventuality requires results elsewhere going their way.
Even though they welcome one of the competition's lowest scorers in Bochum, Matarazzo's men failing to keep a clean sheet after six league games might play into the away side's advantage.
Die Unabsteigbaren needed a relegation playoff penalty shootout against second-tier Fortuna Dusseldorf to retain their top-flight status after finishing the regular season 16th, and this year's early-season struggles point to another exacting season.
Peter Zeidler's start in the dugout in North Rhine-Westphalia has not turned the tide for a club without a top-flight triumph since early May, losing seven of the last eight matches across two seasons.
Despite their goalscoring problems — only St. Pauli (four) have netted fewer than the bottom club's six — the team's 14 goals conceded is the fourth-worst statistic in the division.
Further worrisome for Zeidler is Bochum's inability to hold on to advantages, underlined by losing against Freiburg having led 1-0, conceding a late leveller against promoted Holstein Kiel despite leading 2-1 and losing a two-goal advantage to be beaten 4-2 at Borussia Dortmund.
Given the last four matches involving both clubs have gone in the home side's favour, Die Unabsteigbaren supporters hope Lady Luck favours them in this typically goal-laden encounter.
Team News
Hoffenheim have a glut of absences, with Ihlas Bebou unavailable with a back issue, Pavel Kaderabek missing through a calf problem, and the trio of Finn Ole Becker, Ozan Kabak and Grischa Promel absent due to knee problems.
Stanley N'Soki is missing the gameweek seven fixture because of suspension, while Dennis Geiger (back) is doubtful for the hosts.
With joint top scorer Myron Boadu uncertain to feature, Bochum may have to look elsewhere to replace the forward's contribution.
While Boadu is touch-and-go, Bernardo and Matus Bero are expected to miss out because of knee problems.
Having hitherto fired blanks, the away side hope Philipp Hofmann ends his non-scoring start to the season as they chase their first three points.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Drexler, Stach, Akpoguma; Gendrey, Grillitsch, Bischof, Prass; Kramaric; Hlozek, Bulter
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Drewes; Passlack, Medic, Ordets, Wittek; Sissoko, Losilla; Broschinski, De Wit, Miyoshi; Hofmann
We say: Hoffenheim 2-1 VfL Bochum
With both Hoffenheim and Bochum conceding a significant number of goals this season (16 and 14, respectively) and considering their previous five encounters have seen both sides score, expect an open and entertaining match with goals at both ends.
The hosts seemed to be turning their bad start around before the hiatus and are backed to nick maximum points at the expense of the winless bottom Bundesliga team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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