Hoffenheim vs. Frankfurt preview: Can TSG continue impressive form?
Hoffenheim, who’ve won five of their last six games, play a Frankfurt side who still have some major offensive questions heading into Matchday 8.
Hoffenheim
The former company club look far removed from last year’s disastrous season with their only two losses coming against Freiburg and Dortmund thus far. Maximilian Beier can’t stop scoring and the midfield looks steady with the return of Florian Grillitsch and a healthy Grischa Prömel.
The key is whether TSG can avoid a long stretch of poor form in order to achieve their goal of a return back to European football. Their thin defense is a concern this weekend with three important center defenders all likely out.
In his presser, Pellegrino Matarazzo stated, “Eintracht have not conceded many goals up until now and are very fluid in midfield. We need a very good attacking game. We want to keep the ball and defend compactly."
Team News
Dennis Geiger, Marco John, and Andrej Kramaric are out on Saturday. In defense, Ozan Kabak, Stanley Nsoki, and Kevin Vogt are all doubts.
Frankfurt
It’s been a strange couple of months for Eintracht, who have scored six goals and allowed just five through seven games. There isn’t a lot of excitement currently surrounding the team as Markus Krösche didn’t have enough time to find a direct replacement for Randal Kolo Muani in the summer.
Offensive newcomers such as Omar Marmoush, Fares Chaïbi, and Jessic Ngankam have been used in a variety of ways, but Dino Toppmöller is still searching for answers. There is a feeling that the club are looking forward to the winter window in order to complete a major squad refresh.
Frankfurt lost to Regionalliga side Chemie Leipzig in a friendly over the international break.
Toppmöller commented, “There will be two teams who like going forward. On Saturday, it’ll be down to whoever puts in the better performance out on the pitch. We’ll definitely be looking to pick up points again.“
Team News
It’s unclear if Willian Pacho will be able to play after only returning from international duty on Thursday evening. Sebastian Rode is out, while Kevin Trapp is expected to start even with some recent back problems.