Hoffenheim will welcome 2. Bundesliga outfit Nuremberg to the PreZero Arena for a round two clash in the DFB-Pokal on a jam-packed Wednesday night.
The hosts are currently in 15th place in the top flight after the first eight matches of the season, while the visitors are in eighth place in the second tier after 10 games.
Match preview
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After an excellent last season where they managed to secure a spot back in Europe for the first time since 2019-20, Hoffenheim have stumbled out the starting blocks over the early stages of the current campaign.
Eight matches into the top-flight campaign and Die Kraichgauer have only managed eight points, while picking up just a single victory in their last seven league games which was against basement club Bochum.
The only positive for Pellegrino Matarazzo's side this term has come in Europe, where they have managed four points in their first three games in the Europa League which places them in playoff territory.
In this competition, Hoffenheim got through the first round by the skin of their teeth, scoring an equaliser in the 107th minute against Regionalliga outfit Wurzburger Kickers to force a penalty shootout.
The hosts were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in this round last season by Borussia Dortmund 3-1, though they did reach the round of 16 in the two preceding campaigns.
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Meanwhile, Nuremberg have had success in the DFB-Pokal over the last two seasons, reaching the round of 16 last term and the quarter-final the year before bowing out to Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart respectively.
Der Club have made a mixed start to the season in the second tier, picking up 16 points from their first 10 games, including a record of five wins, one draw and four defeats to date.
However, they will come into this match with confidence, having thumped Jahn Regensburg 8-3 over the weekend, which extended their current win streak to three matches, during which they scored 15 goals and conceded six.
The last time Nuremberg faced this opponent in a competitive fixture was back in March 2019, and they lost the match 2-1 en route to being relegated at the end of that campaign with just 19 points earned across the entire season.
Team News
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The hosts have a fairly lengthy absentee list at present with Christopher Lenz (calf), Dennis Geiger (back), Ihlas Bebou (groin), and Finn Becker (knee) all currently sidelined with injuries.
Grischa Promel and Ozan Kabak are both on the road to recovery and are only expected to return to action next year having undergone surgery on serious knee injuries earlier this season.
The visitors, on the other hand, have just one known injury absentee for this match in the form of centre-forward Janni Serra, who is ruled out until the middle of November with a hip injury.
Julian Justvan scored in Hoffenheim's penalty shootout victory in the first round of this competition, but he has since joined Nuremberg and will likely take the field to face his former employers in midweek.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Chaves, Stach, Akpoguma; Gendrey, Bischof, Grillitsch, Prass; Kramaric, Hlozek, Bulter
Nuremberg possible starting lineup:
Reichert; Jeltsch, Knoche, Karafiat; Villadsen, Jander, Castrop, Soares; Justvan, Emreli, Tzimas
We say: Hoffenheim 1-2 Nuremberg
Hoffenheim have been a long way from their best form this season and are likely to give a few first-team players the night off with an important league match against St Pauli at the weekend and Lyon to come in midweek.
Nuremberg have built up excellent momentum coming into this match, and while they are massive outsiders, we have a feeling they may just be able to cause an upset in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
