TSG Hoffenheim vs. Hamburger SV preview: Visitors keen to keep momentum in Sinsheim
| Warmed Omari and Tim Lemperle | Selim Sudheimer/Getty Images |
TSG Hoffenheim and Hamburger SV will lock horns on Saturday as both teams are looking for their second wins of the season. While HSV’s maiden victory came just before the international break, Hoffenheim had to come to terms with two disappointing defeats in the space of three days.
TSG Hoffenheim
After a 2-0 defeat in Greece to minnows OFI Crete in the Europa League, Christian Ilzer’s side suffered another two-goal margin loss at newly-promoted Paderborn.
After dealing with the disappointment of the poor performances and results during the extended international break, they will now hope to start afresh with the stacked schedule list every few days.
Before those two encounters, Hoffenheim actually had a promising start to the season as they beat Champions League participants Stuttgart after 3-2 defeats to Köln and Borussia Dortmund in games they played well for the majority of the spells.
Team News
Albian Hajdari returned early from the international break with a knee injury suffered in Kosovo’s home win over the Republic of Ireland. Fellow defender Bernardo will also need a bit more time to return to full fitness.
Fisnik Asllani could get his first start of the season after scoring for the first time since his collapsed move to RB Leipzig in Kosovo’s second home game of the window against Austria.
Hamburger SV
HSV played a friendly game against Danish giants Copenhagen last week as late goals from summer signing Kofi Amoako and the captain Nicolai Remberg sealed a morale-boosting 2-0 victory.
The club stood with Merlin Polzin as the coach surprisingly received a new contract after 5-0 defeats to Mainz and RB Leipzig. That approach worked as they got their first points before the three-week break, with their first goals of the Bundesliga season from Nicolas Copaldo and Yussuf Poulsen sealing a 2-1 win over Köln.
Team News
Similarly, HSV had to deal with bad news from the international calendar as Albert Grønbæk and Patson Daka returned with injuries. Zakaria El Ouahdi, who made his competitive debut for Morocco, is also a doubt for this game due to a cold.
On the positive side, Sebastian Bornauw is ready to return in defense, while Terem Moffi and Poulsen are expected to be fit after issues during the week.
Head-to-Head
Hoffenheim won both head-to-head games in Hamburg’s first Bundesliga campaign since 2018. Ilzer’s side comfortably took three points at home with a 4-1 victory before three first-half goals were the story of the return fixture. Asllani and Tim Lemperle scored in both games for Hoffenheim.
Predicted Lineups
Click here to see our predicted starting lineups for TSG Hoffenheim vs. Hamburger SV.
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