Bayer Leverkusen vs. Hoffenheim preview: Can Die Werkself end their run of defeats?
Bayer Leverkusen will look to collect their first points of the season, when they face a Hoffenheim side who are aiming to clinch consecutive victories.
Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen have had a forgettable start to the new season, losing their first three competitive matches for the first time in professional football.
They were knocked out of the DFP-Pokal by Elversberg after losing 4-3 to the third-tier side. A 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund followed on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga before they played host to Augsburg last Saturday.
Although Charles Aránguiz drew Leverkusen level following Fredrik Jensen's opener, Andre Hahn found a winner in the 82nd minute, guiding his side to their first-ever Bundesliga victory over Leverkusen.
The defeat to Augsburg leaves Gerardo Seoane already under pressure to turn a poor start around. His side currently props up the Bundesliga table, and they are one of two clubs - alongside Bochum - who are yet to pick up a point this season.
Leverkusen's forward line will need to improve after scoring one goal across their first two league games in comparison to an xG of 3.9. They will hope the likes of Patrik Schick can start firing this weekend.
Team News
Joel Pohjanpalo will not be included in the Leverkusen squad, with his move to Venezia edging closer. The hosts are also still without the services of Andrey Lunev, Karim Bellarabi, Amine Adli and Florian Wirtz.
Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim will be in a buoyant mood after coming from two goals down to beat Bochum last weekend.
After beating Rödinghausen in the first-round of the Pokal, Hoffenheim began their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-1 away defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
They looked set to begin the league season with back-to-back losses when Simon Zoller gave Bochum a two-goal within the opening 13 minutes, but Christoph Baumgartner halved the deficit within a minute to keep his side in the contest.
Ozan Kabak headed home a second halfway through the first half before Munas Dubbar grabbed a winner two minutes from time, securing Hoffenheim their first Bundesliga win of the season, while also ending a 10-game winless league run.
Andre Breitenreiter's side will be looking to end a five-game winless away run in the Bundesliga this weekend, and the Hoffenheim coach will also attempt to beat Leverkusen for the first time in his managerial career after failing to win any of his seven previous meetings with Die Werkself.
Hoffenheim will still also be determined to improve defensively after conceding at least two goals in their last six Bundesliga matches, while they will look to find the net in a seventh consecutive league game.
Team News
Benjamin Hübner and Ihlas Bebou are sidelined for Hoffenheim due to ankle and knee injuries respectively. Philipp Pentke and Angelo Stiller are also ruled out for the visitors.
