Hoffenheim will look to bounce back from three consecutive league defeats when they host Werder Bremen at PreZero Arena on Sunday in their fifth Bundesliga match of the season.
The home side are fourth last in 15th place with just three points and have not won since the opening round of league fixtures, while the away team are 11th with five points and lost 5-0 last time out against Bayern Munich on September 21.
Match preview
Hoffenheim will be concerned that after four games they are averaging just 0,75 points per game this term, and that figure represents a significant drop from the 1.35 they averaged in 2023-24, a season in which they finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League.
In their last league match on September 21, the hosts lost 2-1 against Union Berlin and were trailing 2-0 after just six minutes.
Hoffenheim took on FC Midtjylland in their first Europa League game in their most recent match on September 25 and drew 1-1, and boss Pellegrino Matarazzo was only spared from experiencing another defeat thanks to Max Moerstedt's 90th-minute equaliser.
Matarazzo said that there were several positive moments during the game and praised his team's character to come from behind away from home after Dario Osorio had opened the scoring in the 42nd minute.
The manager also said after his side's draw that in order to beat Werder Bremen on Sunday, players will need to iron out mistakes, play with as much energy as possible and show the same spirit on the weekend that they showed against Midtjylland.
The hosts have failed to win any of their last four games, though they have won four of their last six Bundesliga matches at home.
Opponents Werder Bremen come into the clash having been comprehensively beaten 5-0 by Bayern Munich, and while the Bavarians will likely score similar numbers of goals against many teams, the Green-Whites worryingly created zero xG.
Manager Ole Werner said that it was a bitter defeat and suggested that Bayern's goals were largely a result of errors from his side.
Werner also argued that it was more important for the team to focus on the things they have been doing well in recent weeks, and to his credit Werder Bremen had drawn twice and won once in the prior three league games to their loss against Vincent Kompany's Bayern.
However, of the 18 top-flight sides, the visitors have created the least big chances and created the third-fewest xG.
Werder Bremen are unbeaten in their last four Bundesliga matches on the road, winning twice and drawing twice, but prior to those fixtures they did lose three of the previous four away games.
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Team News
Hoffenheim have numerous absentees, including Ozan Kabak and Grischa Promel until February and May next year due to cruciate ligament injuries.
Ihlas Bebou is ruled out until December, while Valentin Gendrey, Finn Becker and Dennis Geiger are not scheduled to return until next month.
However, Andrej Kramaric, Anton Stach and David Jurasek could feature on Sunday given they are nearing returns from their respective injuries.
As for Werder Bremen, they will be without Marco Friedl, who is suspended due to the red card he received against Mainz 05 on September 15.
Naby Keita remains suspended from the first team, while Justin Njinmah and Milos Veljkovic should be available some time in the middle of next month.
The visitors could start Senne Lynen and Jens Stage in as a double pivot in front of centre-backs Amos Pieper, Niklas Stark and Anthony Jung.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Drexler, Grillitsch, Akpoguma; Kaderabek, Bischof, Tohumcu, Prass; Hlozek, Bulter; Berisha
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Pieper, Stark, Jung; Weiser, Lynen, Stage, Agu; Schmid, Ducksch, Grull
We say: Hoffenheim 1-1 Werder Bremen
It is difficult to ignore Hoffenheim's poor form in the Bundesliga, and given their sheer number of injury absentees, it would not be surprising if they started Sunday's match sluggishly.
However, Werder Bremen's struggles in front of goal might mean they create few opportunities and this could allow the hosts the chance to get back into the game.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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