Heidenheim vs. Hoffenheim preview: The hosts' first-ever Bundesliga home game
Heidenheim will compete in their first-ever Bundesliga home fixture when they face Hoffenheim on Saturday.
| Tim Kleindienst | 1. FC Heidenheim |
Heidenheim
After thrashing Rostocker FC 8-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, Heidenheim quickly turned their focus to their first-ever Bundesliga fixture. Their hopes of picking up points in their league opener against Wolfburg were dented by a Jonas Wind brace in the opening half-hour. They were unable to find a way back into the contest, mustering just one shot on target to ensure they headed home empty-handed.
With the newly-promoted side set to face Borussia Dortmund in an away fixture next week, they will be determined to go into that tricky encounter off the back of a positive result. While a home meeting with Hoffenheim will be far from simple, the hosts can take confidence from their impressive home form during the 2022-23 campaign. Heidenheim finished the 2.Bundesliga season with the best home record in the division after collecting 40 points and losing just one of their 17 home matches.
Team News
The hosts are expected to be without the injured trio of Lennard Maloney, Marnon Busch and Elidon Qenaj.
Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim experienced a difficult 2022-23 season, finishing in 12th place and just three points above the bottom three. With Pellegrino Matarazzo taking charge for his first full campaign as Hoffenheim boss, he will be hoping to spend the majority of this season away from the drop zone. However, an opening-day defeat to Freiburg reinforced the fact that forcing their way into the top half of the table will be far from easy.
Ozan Kabak gave Hoffenheim a foothold when he halved the deficit in the opening stages of the second period after Freiburg had established a two-goal advantage. However, die Kraichgauer were unable to find an equaliser, ensuring they fell to a narrow defeat.
Having conceded in each of their last 13 top-flight games, Hoffenheim will be looking to produce a resolute defensive display when they travel to the Voith-Arena on Saturday. They also have the chance to end a four-game winless away run in the Bundesliga.
Team News
Hoffenheim are unable to call upon Dennis Geiger and Umut Tohumcu, while last weekend's goalscorer Kabak is a doubt due to a hamstring injury. Andrej Kramaric has been struggling with a back issue but is expected to be fit.