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Hoffenheim logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 4
Oct 17, 2020 at 2.30pm UK
Rhein-Neckar-Arena
Dortmund logo

Hoffenheim
0 - 1
Dortmund


Posch (58')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Reus (76')
Reyna (90')

Preview: Hoffenheim vs. Borussia Dortmund - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Bundesliga match between Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Hoffenheim host Borussia Dortmund as the 2020-21 Bundesliga season resumes following the international break, with both sides level on six points after two wins and a loss in each of their opening three matches.

BVB have failed to beat their forthcoming opponents in the last five meetings between the two sides, with Hoffenheim winning three of those matches.


Match preview

Hoffenheim manager Sebastian Hoeness celebrates with his players after their victory over Bayern Munich on September 27, 2020© Reuters

Die Kraichgauer stunned the world on matchday two with a sensational 4-1 win against the reigning Bundesliga and European champions Bayern Munich. The defeat was only Hansi Flick's third in all competitions since replacing Nico Kovac last November, and his first in the whole of 2020.

It would have been a particularly satisfying victory for Sebastian Hoeness, who left his role as Bayern's reserve team manager to become Hoffenheim's head coach at the end of July.

He certainly seems to be getting the best out of Croatian forward Andrej Kramaric, who currently leads the Bundesliga top goalscorer chart on six goals having scored a brace against Bayern, a hat-trick in the opening day 3-2 win at FC Koln, and the opening goal in a 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt prior to the international break.

Hoeness and Kramaric will both be hoping their side can build on last season's sixth-placed finish, which ensured the club will be playing in the Europa League group stage this campaign.

They will be quietly confident of causing another stir having won this fixture 4-0 on the final day of last season, with Kramaric incredibly scoring all four goals that day.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna pictured in October 2020© Reuters

Dortmund, meanwhile, qualified for the Champions League for the fifth successive season after finishing second to Bayern last campaign.

Lucien Favre will be hoping to guide the club to their first domestic title since Jurgen Klopp's 2011-12 side won their second Bundesliga title in a row. As always, however, they face a tall order in attempting to overthrow a Bayern side who have astonishingly won eight consecutive titles and look stronger than ever.

BVB were unlucky in defeat to their Bavarian rivals in the recent DFL Super Cup, with Joshua Kimmich's rather fortuitous late goal securing a 3-2 win after Dortmund had valiantly fought back from 2-0 down.

In the league, a disappointing 2-0 loss at Augsburg was sandwiched by convincing 3-0 and 4-0 home victories over Borussia Monchengladbach and SC Freiburg respectively. Favre will be hoping the away form, which has been inconsistent in recent seasons, improves quickly.

One man who has certainly not been inconsistent in any shape or form since joining the club in January is Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland, who is currently one behind Robert Lewandowski and two behind Kramaric on four league goals this season in the race to be top goalscorer.

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form: WWL
Hoffenheim form (all competitions): DWWL

Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form: WLW
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions): WWLLW


Team News

Hoffenheim's Steven Zuber and Christoph Baumgartner celebrate score on May 27, 2020© Reuters

Captain Benjamin Hubner, Kostas Stafylidis and Ermin Bicakcic are out through injury for the hosts, but Maximilian Beier and Havard Nordtveit should recover to compete for a place on the bench having been absent in recent weeks.

Sebastian Rudy could be in line to make his third debut for the club, having re-joined permanently from Schalke 04, with Hoeness potentially shaking things up a little after the defeat at Frankfurt.

Jadon Sancho should return to Favre's starting XI having missed the matches against Bayern and Freiburg due to illness. The England international came on as a substitute in the Three Lions' two Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark earlier this week.

Marcel Schmelzer, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Manuel Akanji are out for the visitors, leaving them somewhat short in defence, while Thorgan Hazard remains sidelined. Teenage sensation Giovanni Reyna, who assisted three goals in the win over Freiburg, should join Sancho and Haaland in attack with Marco Reus still not quite at full fitness.

Young England midfielder Jude Bellingham is likely to partner Axel Witsel in midfield, with former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can continuing in defence.

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Posch, Vogt, Akpoguma; Kaderabek, Geiger, Rudy, Skov; Baumgartner; Dabour, Kramaric

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki; Piszczek, Hummels, Can; Meunier, Bellingham, Witsel, Guerreiro; Sancho, Haaland, Reyna


SM words green background

We say: Hoffenheim 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

With two of the best strikers in the division on display and both sides missing key central defenders, we can reasonably expect to see a few goals at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

Given Hoffenheim's stunning win over Bayern and their excellent form against Dortmund in recent years, it would be no surprise to see the hosts avoid defeat once again in what will hopefully be an entertaining and even affair.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data

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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 Borussia Dortmund win with a probability of 62.93%. A draw had a probability of 19% and a win for Hoffenheim had a probability of 18.09%.

The most likely scoreline for a Borussia Dortmund win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.15%) and 1-3 (7.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.26%), while for a Hoffenheim win it was 2-1 (4.87%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Borussia Dortmund would win this match.


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Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna pictured in October 2020
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen26224066184870
2Bayern MunichBayern26193478314760
3Stuttgart26182660312956
4Borussia DortmundDortmund26148453322150
5RB Leipzig26154760322849
6Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt26101064235740
7Augsburg269894342135
8Hoffenheim2696114450-633
9Freiburg2696113648-1233
10Werder Bremen2686123541-630
11Heidenheim2678113544-929
12Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach26610104650-428
13Union BerlinUnion Berlin2684142542-1728
14Wolfsburg2667133144-1325
15VfL BochumVfL Bochum26510113054-2425
16Mainz 05Mainz26310132246-2419
17FC Koln2639142047-2718
18SV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt2627172665-3913


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