TSG Hoffenheim vs. VfL Wolfsburg preview: Contrasting battles at either end of the table
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Dieter Hecking will start his second stint at Wolfsburg with an away game at Champions League chasers Hoffenheim. The 61-year-old orchestrated Wolfsburg’s second and last major trophy with a DFB-Pokal triumph in the 2014/15 season.
The 2008/09 Bundesliga winners flirted with relegation multiple times in the past decade. Their latest battle sees the club changing coaches twice as Hecking now returns to a Bundesliga assignment.
Elsewhere in Hoffenheim, the Sinsheim side are hoping for a return to Europe’s premier competition. They recently went two games without a win for the first time since matchday six, but the 4-2 victory away at cellar-dwellers Heidenheim ended the mini-drought last weekend.
Wouter Burger’s brace helped Hoffenheim to a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture. Wolfsburg were unbeaten in the previous four meetings before the game on matchday nine.
With Stuttgart and RB Leipzig going head-to-head the next day, Hoffenheim could extend the gap with one of them in the race for the Champions League. Meanwhile, Wolfsburg are in desperate need of points as they are four behind 16th-placed St. Pauli.
Team News
Valentin Gendrey will be unavailable after he was forced to undergo another surgery. Hoffenheim will also be without Koki Machida and Adam Hložek. As for the visitors, the captain Maximilian Arnold could finally return to the squad. The returns of Patrick Wimmer, Jonas Wind, and Joakim Mæhle will also be welcomed by Hecking.
Predicted Lineups
Hoffenheim: Baumann ©; Coufal, Kabak, Hajdari, Bernardo; Avdullahu; Kramaric, Burger; Prass, Asllani, Touré
Wolfsburg: Grabara; Adjetey, Jenz, Koulierakis; Kumbedi, Eriksen ©, Vinícius Souza, Belocian; Lindström, Amoura; Pejčinović
