With a place in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal up for grabs on Wednesday, Wolfsburg are set to welcome Hoffenheim to Volkswagen Arena in an all-Bundesliga clash.
The home team are eighth in the top flight with 18 points from 12 games and beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in the previous round on October 29, while their opponents emerged as 2-1 victors against Nurnberg on October 30 and are fifth last in 14th with 12 points after 12 matchweeks.
Match preview
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The Wolves progressed to the round of 16 thanks to a 117th-minute winner from Jonas Wind, who reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box and instinctively struck into the bottom-left corner.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will have been delighted with his side's last outing on November 30 when his team beat RB Leipzig 5-1.
Wolfsburg raced into a three-goal lead after just 16 minutes, and it should be noted that Die Roten Bullen had only conceded nine goals prior to their defeat on Saturday.
Hasenhuttl's team are in strong form and are unbeaten in their last six outings, winning their three most recent matches by a cumulative score of 9-2.
The hosts have won six of their past eight fixtures in the DFB-Pokal, but while they are undefeated in their last three home games, they have lost two, drawn two and won two of their past six matches at Volkswagen Arena.
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Opponents Hoffenheim started life under new boss Christian Ilzer well, winning 4-3 against RB Leipzig on November 23, but they lost their subsequent two games under him.
Ilzer's team were beaten 2-0 by Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, a match in which they faced four big chances and created just one of their own.
Die Kraichgauer have scored 17 goals and conceded 24 times in the league, and these records make them the division's 11th best offensive and joint third-worst defensive club in the top flight.
Hoffenheim are in poor form having lost three, drawn two and triumphed in just one of their last six fixtures, though they have won five of their past seven outings in the DFB-Pokal.
There is no mitigating the fact that the visitors' away form has been disappointing considering they have failed to win any of their last nine matches on the road, losing five and drawing four in that time.
Team News
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The hosts will be without forwards Bartosz Bialek, Kevin Paredes and Lovro Majer, so perhaps they will field a frontline consisting of Patrick Wimmer, Ridle Baku, Mohamed El Amine Amoura and Jakub Kaminski.
Midfielder Aster Vranckx has been ruled out, as has left-back Rogerio, centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw and goalkeeper Niklas Klinger.
Expect Wolfsburg to field a backline of Kilian Fischer, Denis Vavro, Konstantinos Koulierakis and Joakim Maehle.
Meanwhile, Hoffenheim are also dealing with several absentees, including defenders Ozan Kabak, Christopher Lenz and Florian Grillitsch.
Midfielders Grischa Promel and Finn Becker will not be available, so perhaps Ilzer will start Anton Stach and Tom Bischof in a double pivot.
Forwards Marius Bulter and Ihlas Bebou are set to miss out, and this could mean that Adam Hlozek, Andrej Kramaric, Jacob Brunn Larsen and Haris Tabakovic are chosen to lead the visitors' attack.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle; Dardai, Arnold; Baku, Wimmer, Amoura; Kaminski
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kaderabek, Chaves, Nsoki, Prass; Stach, Bischof; Hlozek, Kramariz, Larsen; Tabakovic
We say: Wolfsburg 3-1 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim's away record is concerning, and the fact that they have continued to lose despite the arrival of a new manager suggests that many of their issues on the pitch are extensive and not so easily resolved.
It is hard to overlook Wolfsburg's exceptional form of late and if they can replicate their last performance, then it would not be surprising if they scored multiple goals on Wednesday.
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Lewis Nolan
