TSG Hoffenheim vs Bayer Leverkusen

TSG Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen are set to square off at PreZero Arena in a tasty-looking Bundesliga contest.

Last season’s underwhelming 12th-place finish was clearly a one-off, as Hoffenheim’s form at the start of the new Bundesliga campaign (W6, L3) announces their return to a European fight. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side stunned fellow high-flyers Stuttgart 3-2 last weekend, recovering from a 3-1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and moving to sixth in the standings. What’s more impressive is that five of Hoffenheim’s six league wins this season have seen them score 3+ goals, a feat they achieved in last season’s 3-0 victory at Bayer Leverkusen before going down 3-1 in the reverse fixture at home. PreZero Arena hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Baden-Württemberg outfit this term as they’ve lost three out of four home league matches (W1), which makes them the second joint-worst home side in the division.

On the other hand, Bayer Leverkusen’s quest to win their first-ever Bundesliga title is off and running after a magnificent start to the 2023/24 season (W8, D1), with Xabi Alonso’s high-performing side beginning this round as one of only three unbeaten clubs in the top flight. Though their only slip-up came away from home, it was a goal-glutted 2-2 draw against perennial champions Bayern Munich, which went a long way in confirming their title credentials. ‘Die Werkself’ have won their three remaining league games on the hostile turf via an aggregate score of 8-1, two of which by an identical 3-0 scoreline. Delivering action from the get-go, Leverkusen got on the scoresheet inside the first 25 minutes on each occasion.