Two Bundesliga sides will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal when Hoffenheim play host to Freiburg on Wednesday.
Having negotiated the first two rounds, both sides are aiming to reach the last eight for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Match preview
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Hoffenheim saw a seven-game unbeaten run come to an end at the weekend when they fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Union Berlin.
Die Kraichgauer took the lead in that contest thanks to a Timo Baumgartl own goal, but strikes from Andreas Voglsammer and Grischa Promel saw the Berlin side claim all three points.
Despite that defeat, Hoffenheim find themselves in fourth position in the Bundesliga, but they will put their challenge for a Champions League place on hold to focus on a cup tie with Freiburg.
The hosts will take part in the round of 16 for the second time in three seasons, and with Borussia Dortmund the only side left in the competition who are placed higher in the league standings, Hoffenheim will believe they are one of the contenders to win the trophy.
Having won seven of their last eight home matches, Die Kraichgauer will be confident of progressing to the quarter-final stage.
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Freiburg are looking for their first win of 2022 after beginning the new year with a draw and a defeat.
They enter the midweek cup tie off the back of a heavy 5-1 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund, which resulted in Freiburg slipping down to sixth place in the Bundesliga.
Despite winning just twice in their last nine games, the Breisgau-Brasilianer are currently enjoying a memorable season that has fans dreaming of a European adventure.
After experiencing a run of three consecutive second-round eliminations, Freiburg will take part in DFB-Pokal round of 16 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Christian Streich will be looking for his players to draw on recent away meetings with Hoffenheim, with Freiburg looking to collect their third straight win at the PreZero Arena.
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Team News
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Mijat Gacinovic, Pavel Kaderabek, Robert Skov and Ermin Bicakcic are all set to miss the game for the hosts due to injury issues.
Sebastian Hoeness is also without the services of Diadie Samassekou, who is currently away with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Meanwhile, Ihlas Bebou has scored seven goals in all competitions this season, and he will partner Munas Dubbur upfront on Wednesday.
As for Freiburg, they will hope to have Mark Flekken, Nico Schlotterbeck and Kiliann Sildillia back available after the trio missed the first two games of the year due to positive coronavirus tests.
Ermedin Demirovic came on as a half-time substitute to score Freiburg's only goal against Dortmund, and the 23-year-old could come into the starting lineup for the cup tie.
With six assists to his name this term, Vincenzo Grifo will be one of the visitors' main creators on Wednesday.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Posch, Richards, Vogt; Akpoguma, Baumgartner, Geiger, Kramaric, Raum; Dabbur, Bebou
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Kubler, Lienhart, N. Schlotterbeck, Gunter; Sallai, Haberer, Hofler, Grifo; Jeong, Holer
We say: Hoffenheim 3-1 Freiburg
Although in the league these sides are separated by a single point, we think that Hoffenheim will have too much for the visitors, especially as the hosts are unbeaten in their last eight home games.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hoffenheim win with a probability of 52.96%. A win for Freiburg had a probability of 25.03% and a draw had a probability of 22%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hoffenheim win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.72%) and 2-0 (7.52%). The likeliest Freiburg win was 1-2 (6.33%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.89%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 0.9% likelihood.
