1. FC Cologne – TSG Hoffenheim
The 4th matchday in the Bundesliga is coming up next weekend and that also means the fourth Saturday conference this season. In Cologne, two teams will meet that have had very different starts to the season in their first three games. Whether the fans can still expect an exciting game on Saturday, you can find out in our Cologne – Hoffenheim tip.
The host from Cologne did not have the desired start to the season. The FC lost the first two games of the season against Dortmund and Wolfsburg. At the guest game in Frankfurt, the Geißböcke scored the first point of the new season with a 1-1 draw. The upcoming guest, however, some players of the Domstädter know inside out. With Selke, Uth, Adamyan, Schwäbe, Pentke and Köbbing, six players have a past with TSG.
Against the upcoming opponent, however, the billy goats need all the inside information they can get. After the opening defeat against Freiburg, TSG recently bounced back with two successive victories and will therefore go into the clash with FC with a great deal of self-confidence.
Cologne – Hoffenheim info:
- Date & Time: 09/16/2023, 15:30 hrs.
- Game Venue: RheinEnergieSTADION, Cologne
- Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 4.
- TV coverage: Sky
Cologne form & balance check
For several years now, 1. FC Köln has not exactly been on roses financially and has therefore is again in the coming season only the class preservation as a season goal. Coach Baumgart has already managed to do this quite well in recent years, finishing the preseason in eleventh place in the table.
At the start of the new season, however, FC is once again stuck in the lower third of the table. The unfortunate opening defeat to BVB was followed by another loss at home, this time to VfL Wolfsburg. However, the Geißböcke then picked up their first point of the still young season in Frankfurt before the international break with a 1-1 draw.
Injury worries in attack
The Cologne offense was already the problem child in the preseason. The FC failed to score a goal a full 13 times in the preseason. This meant that 38 percent of FC’s games saw zero goals scored up front. In the second half of the season, the Geißböcke even went an inglorious 406 minutes without scoring a goal of their own between Matchday 20 and Matchday 25.
The quality of the Cathedral City’s attack is less of a problem. In Davie Selke, FC has a striker who showed what he is capable of in the past second half of the season. In the first games of the new season, however, the former Hertha player was plagued by many injury concerns. The situation is even worse for Mark Uth, who played only 43 minutes in the Bundesliga in the preseason and also had to leave the field injured this season in the DFB Cup against Osnabrück.
Cologne facts & analysis
- Placed 11th in the league in the preseason.
- Played 1:1 against Frankfurt in their last game
- Only six home wins in the preseason
Hoffenheim form & balance check
Last season, TSG Hoffenheim experienced a truly awful season after a promising start. The Kraichgauer fell deeper and deeper into crisis towards the end of the season. Ultimately, the squad quality proved too strong for relegation and Hoffenheim finished the season in twelfth place in the table.
Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team also failed to start the new season. TSG lost 1:2 at home to SC Freiburg at the start of the season, but the Kraichgauer then won two games in a row. The 3-2 win against Heidenheim was followed by a 3-1 win against the Wolves from Wolfsburg.
More morale in the Kraichgau?
Many experts wondered in the preseason how a team with the quality of Hoffenheim could get into the relegation maelstrom. In the process, some fans repeatedly denied TSG’s players the necessary mentality. And the statistics certainly gave fuel to these accusations.
In the last season in the German top flight, a TSG deficit was usually synonymous with defeat. Only once in the course of the season, in the 3:2 against Bochum on matchday 2, did Hoffenheim manage to turn a deficit into a victory. This season, on the other hand, TSG managed to turn around a deficit in all three of their competitive match wins.
Hoffenheim facts & analysis
- Placed 12th in the league in the preseason.
- Won 3:1 against Wolfsburg in last game
- One of six teams with six points to start Bundesliga
Predicted lineup – last update on September 14, 2023
For 1. FC Köln, we expect a 4-1-4-1 again for the match against TSG Hoffenheim, like last time in Frankfurt. Up top, Davie Selke could make a direct return to the starting eleven, having been out injured recently. Luxembourg’s Mathias Olesen, on the other hand, returned from his international trip injured.
There is no way around the three-man backline at Hoffenheim this season. In the forward line, we expect Maximilian Beier and Wout Weghorst together again in the cathedral city. Newcomer Mergim Berisha, on the other hand, will probably sit on the bench for the time being.
Cologne – Hoffenheim direct comparison & statistics
For the most part, TSG Hoffenheim looked very good in their direct duels with FC. The Kraichgauer won 13 duels, while the Geißböcken have only nine victories on the chalkboard. After 13 games in the Bundesliga without a win against Hoffenheim, however, Cologne managed a 3:1 victory in the past second half of the season.
- The two teams were separated by six points in the league in the preseason.
- The last home win for Cologne against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga was on 04/12/2015.
- Cologne wins 31% of halves, Hoffenheim wins to 23%
