Augsburg will look to extend their impressive run of results in the Bundesliga when they travel to Sinsheim to face Hoffenheim at the PreZero Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Depending on UEFA rankings and DFB-Pokal results, seventh place in the Bundesliga may be enough for a spot in the Europa Conference League, making this a crucial fixture for both these teams.
Match preview
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Hoffenheim have slipped to ninth place in the league standings in the last couple of weeks, although they have made progress this season, currently three places above where they ended last term and just three points shy of their previous 36-point tally.
Die Kraichgauer looked set to be the first side to defeat the formidable Bayer Leverkusen last weekend after Maximilian Beier gave them the lead in the first half, but despite the heroics of Oliver Baumann, who pulled off an incredible double-save in the second period, Xabi Alonso's side once again showed their resilience, netting the equaliser in the 88th minute before Patrik Schick volleyed home the winner in stoppage time.
That result marked Pellegrino Matarazzo's side's third consecutive league defeat on the bounce, following a 3-1 away loss to Eintracht Frankfurt and a 3-0 home defeat against Stuttgart, marking their longest losing streak in the top flight since they went seven losses in a row between January and March 2023.
In comparison to the 20 points they have earned on the road, Hoffenheim have been very poor at home this season, managing just three wins, four draws and six losses for a total of 13 points, which is the fourth-worst record in the division, and their second-worst return in the top flight after 13 games at the PreZero Arena.
The hosts have been the dominant side in this contest over the years, winning eight of their last 12 encounters against Augsburg, though they have failed to win the last two, drawing 1-1 in the reverse fixture while losing 1-0 in the previous matchup.
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Meanwhile, regardless of what happens for the remainder of the season, Augsburg can be well proud of the improvements they have made this term, having not finished higher than 12th place in the last eight consecutive seasons.
Following a 1-1 draw against FC Koln last week, Fuggerstadter climbed back up to seventh place in the league standings, now on 36 points after 27 games, just five points behind Eintracht Frankfurt in sixth and still holding on the hope of returning European football for the first time since 2015-16.
Against Koln, Arne Maier gave his side the lead inside the first 20 minutes of the first half, but Davie Selke's 33rd-minute goal levelled the scores, and neither side were able to find the crucial go-ahead goal in the second period.
While that result halted a four-match winning streak, it did take Jess Thorup's side to five matches unbeaten in the top flight, with only champions-elect Bayer Leverkusen picking up more points than them since gameweek 23.
In addition, during their current unbeaten run, FCA won back-to-back away games for the first time this season, beating Wolfsburg and Darmstadt, and a third consecutive win on the road would equal the club record which was last achieved back in 2015.
Team News
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Hoffenheim will remain without the services of right-back John Brooks, who will be serving the final of his three-match suspension here for the straight red he was shown against Frankfurt last month.
Long-term absentees Marco John and Mergim Berisha are still sidelined with cruciate ligament injuries, while Max Moerstedt has missed the last two outings due to a knock and is flagged as a doubt for this match.
Maximilian Beier netted his 13th goal of the season in the loss to Leverkusen last week and should retain his place in attack alongside Dutch international Wout Weghorst.
Thorup's side's results are all the more praiseworthy when considering the number of injuries they have been dealing with in recent weeks. The latest addition to the casualty list is Elvis Rexhbecaj, who suffered a broken metatarsal in his right foot in Augsburg's 1-1 draw with FC Koln and has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Rexhbecaj will join Kristijan Jakic, Fredrik Jensen, Kevin Mbabu, Robert Gumny, Patric Pfeiffer and Reece Oxford on the treatment table, while Niklas Dorsch is not quite ready to return to action just yet.
The absence of Rexhbecaj will likely force Thorup to consider a change of formation here, which could see Ermedin Demirovic return to the starting 11 to partner Phillip Tietz at the top end of the pitch.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kabak, Grillitsch, Drexler; Kaderabek, Jurasek, Proemel, Stach, Kramaric; Beier, Weghorst
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen, Engels, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen, Maier, Vargas, Beljo, Engels; Demirovic, Tietz
We say: Hoffenheim 2-2 Augsburg
While Augsburg undoubtedly come into this match with the better recent record, it is difficult to overlook their current injury list, which features several players that would make the starting 11 most weeks.
Hoffenheim will likely throw everything into this match, given their current run of results, and we feel they will be able to claim a share of the spoils here against the short-handed visitors.
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