TSG 1899 Hoffenheim – Borussia Dortmund
The pressure is palpable: On Saturday, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim welcomes Borussia Dortmund to the PreZero Arena – for the hosts, it’s a matter of survival, while BVB is fighting for a spot in the Champions League, which is still up for grabs. Hoffenheim is in 15th place in the table, level on points with St. Pauli and without Kabak or Prömel in the starting lineup. Dortmund travels with ten points from its last four games and the confidence of a 3-2 win over Mönchengladbach, but has to replace Schlotterbeck and key playmaker Pascal Groß. The first leg ended 1-1, and BVB has lost only once in the last five direct encounters – a hint, but nothing more.
Hoffenheim – Dortmund info
- Venue: PreZero Arena, Sinsheim
- Date and time: 26.04.2025, 15:30
- Competition: Bundesliga (matchday 31)
Hoffenheim form & record check
Hoffenheim continues to deliver ups and downs. After a 2-0 win against Mainz, hopes were high for stability, but this was followed by a 1-3 defeat in Leipzig, a 1-1 draw against Augsburg and, most recently, a 2-3 loss in Freiburg. In five consecutive league games, TSG has not won a single second half – a sign of a lack of robustness after the break.
Offensively, however, the team is reliable: goals in each of these games prove that they have sharpness in the final third. Staying compact and surviving the final phases is therefore the order of the day against Dortmund.
Ilzer is likely to field a 3-4-2-1 formation once again: Baumann; Arthur Chaves, Akpoguma, Nsoki; Gendrey, Bülter; Becker, Stach; Kramarić, Touré; Tabaković. The absences of Kabak, Prömel, and Bebou leave little room for rotation, with Hložek or Moerstedt available as wild cards at best.
Dortmund form & record check
Dortmund look more solid under Niko Kovac: ten points from four league games, three wins in their last five competitive matches and now 45 points in the bag mark their comeback towards Europe. In 80% of their most recent games, they have scored more than 1.5 goals after the break – proof of their late-game punch.
The downside: they have conceded in each of these games, often in the closing stages. Without Schlotterbeck and Groß, the center remains vulnerable, but the flexible trio of Adeyemi, Beier, and Guirassy almost automatically creates danger.
Dortmund also stick with a 3-4-2-1 formation: Kobel; Süle, Anton, Bensebaini; Yan Couto, Ryerson; Nmecha, Svensson; Adeyemi, Beier; Guirassy. Kovac is still missing the trio of Schlotterbeck, Groß and Sabitzer, which means that variations in the center are hardly possible – the plan is to play at speed down the wings and hit them hard after the break.
H2H Hoffenheim – Dortmund Head-to-head comparison & statistics
In the last five head-to-head matches, Dortmund recorded three wins and Hoffenheim just one. The most recent encounter in December ended 1-1, halting Dortmund’s winning streak, but the statistics still clearly favor the Black and Yellows: TSG conceded at least one goal in each of those games and were behind at half-time on four occasions. If the balance is to be tipped, the start must be successful.
