Hoffenheim vs Fc Koln Preview
Watch Hoffenheim vs FC koln preview, As Hoffenheim have a clashing with Fc Koln on the Bundesliga premises at Rhein Neckar Arena at Saturday meetings.
Hoffenheim‘s 2-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich in late October marked the beginning of a lengthy winless run of 14 matches for Die Kraichgauer in the Bundesliga, with the relegation-threatened outfit falling to the bottom of the table after collecting just two points from that dismal period either side of the World Cup.
Having won three consecutive matches to move away from the relegation zone in recent weeks, then, their trip to Munich to take on the league leaders was the ultimate litmus test to gauge the true level of Pellegrino Matarazzo’s players’ improvement.
While they rode their luck on several occasions, with Oliver Baumann making seven saves in the visitors’ goal to deny the Bavarians adding to Benjamin Pavard’s early opener, Andrej Kramaric’s equaliser with less than 20 minutes of normal time remaining provided Hoffenheim with an unexpected point from their toughest match of the season.
With four matches against more sides occupying places in the top half of Germany’s top flight awaiting them after Saturday’s home match against Koln, Matarazzo will be urging his players to seize on the momentum which they have worked wonders to build across recent outings, with jumping up to 11th position a distinct possibility should they win for a fourth time in five games.
Team news and Injury
Hoffenheim appear to have lost key defender Kevin Vogt for the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury, meaning that Ozan Kabak is likely to start once again after returning to the side for the 1-1 draw against Bayern last weekend.
Justin Che and Jacob Bruun Larsen are expected to remain sidelined through knee and groin issues respectively, with Matarazzo set to reward the same group of players with another start after claiming a superb result in Munich last time out.
Koln, meanwhile, will travel without forwards Sebastian Andersson, Florian Dietz and Mark Uth, who all remain out of action through long-term injuries.
Like his forthcoming counterpart, Baumgart is unlikely to make any alterations to Koln’s starting XI having seen his side’s performances improve across recent games.
Hoffenheim vs Koln head to head
The two Western German rivals have crossed paths 28 times in all competitions since 2003. The hosts have a 13-8 lead in wins while seven games have ended in draws.
The hosts have opened up a significant lead in wins thanks to their impressive record in recent games against the visitors. They are undefeated against Koln since 2016, winning nine of the 11 games in that period.
Hoffenheim have won their last five league meetings against the visitors at home, scoring 21 goals while conceding just once. They have four clean sheets in that period.
Both teams have posted similar stats in the Bundesliga this season with the hosts narrowly outscoring the visitors 38-37. The visitors have the better defensive record, conceding one goal fewer (46) than the hosts.
The hosts have scored 50 goals in the German top flight against the visitors, the most they have scored against a single opponent in the Bundesliga.
Hoffenheim vs Koln prediction
Die Kraichgauer have an impressive home record against the visitors and are unbeaten since 2015, though they suffered a loss in the DFB Pokal in 2016. They were winless in the league between September and March and have recorded back-to-back wins in their last two home games.
They have gone unbeaten in four games in the league for the first time this season and will be looking to extend that run to five games.
The Billy Goats have failed to score in six of their last nine away games in the league. They have also failed to score in three of their last four meetings against the hosts and might struggle in this match.
Both teams head into the game on unbeaten runs. Having drawn their previous meeting earlier this season, we expect them to play out a draw.
