Preview: Hoffenheim vs Eintracht Frankfurt - prediction, team news, lineups

Eintracht Frankfurt will hope to build on their strong start to the Bundesliga season by beating Hoffenheim on Saturday when they travel to PreZero Arena.

The fifth-placed hosts began their league campaign with a 2-1 triumph against Bayer Leverkusen on August 23, while second-placed Frankfurt beat Werder Bremen 4-1 on the same date.

Match preview

The hosts fought back from a 1-0 deficit against Leverkusen to lead 2-1 at half time, and they prevented their opponents from registering a single shot on target in the second half.

Hoffenheim boss Christian Ilzer has been in charge of the club for 25 Bundesliga games, and while he has only avoided defeat 14 times during his tenure as head coach, his players managed to come from behind in 10 of those matches.

Die Kraichgauer are winless against Frankfurt in their past four encounters - they lost three times and conceded at least two goals in each game - but they did earn a point in their 2-2 draw with the visitors when they faced off in January.

A win for Hoffenheim would be a third consecutive competitive victory for Ilzer, and when factoring in friendlies, it would be their 11th successive success.

The hosts only claimed 17 points from their 17 Bundesliga outings at home in 2024-25, and they have failed to win 12 of their last 13 at PreZero Arena.

Eintracht Frankfurt were dominant against Werder Bremen given they produced 15 shots inside the box and created four big chances, whereas the Green-Whites were limited to just one big chance and four efforts inside the penalty area.

The Eagles have continued their strong form in the final third into the new season considering they also netted five times in their DFB-Pokal triumph against Engers on August 17, meaning they have scored at least three goals in four of their past six competitive outings.

Fans may be concerned about the team's performances at the opposite end of the pitch as they have kept just one clean sheet in their five most recent matches.

After Dino Toppmoller's side finished third in 2024-25, they will hope to close the gap to champions Bayern Munich, who finished 22 points ahead of them.

Frankfurt have not experienced a defeat in a competitive fixture in seven, and they managed to emerge as winners on four occasions.

The visitors' record on their travels is positive, with the club only losing one of their eight most recent matches away from home, winning four times in that period.

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

Hoffenheim form (all competitions):

Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form:

Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):

Team News

Hoffenheim are still dealing with injuries to defenders Ozan Kabak and Vladimir Coufal, and with both Robin Hranac and Koki Machida forced off against Bayer Leverkusen, Arthur Chaves and Kevin Akpoguma may be paired together as centre-backs.

Defensive midfielder Leon Avdullahu could start between Umut Tohumcu and Andrej Kramaric.

Centre-forward Tim Lemperle netted last time out, and he is certain to feature on the weekend in a front three.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt goalkeeper Michael Zetterer is expected to retain his place between the posts due to Kaua Santos's injury.

Central defenders Robin Koch and Nnamdi Collins will likely be stationed behind midfielders Hugo Larsson and Fares Chaibi.

Number 10 Can Uzun provided two assists against Werder Bremen, and striker Jonathan Burkardt will hope to benefit from his service on Saturday.

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Promel, Chaves, Akpoguma, Bernardo; Tohumcu, Avdullahu, Kramaric; Asllani, Lemperle, Toure

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Zetterer; Kristensen, Koch, Collins, Theate; Larsson, Chaibi; Doan, Uzun, Bahoya; Burkardt