Without Nagelsmann to the next Kantersieg?
It’s a special game for the coaches when Bayern Munich host TSG Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. While Sebastian Hoeneß is coming to the old home and will run into some relatives, Julian Nagelsmann, who earned his first spurs in the Kraichgau, is out on Saturday after testing positive and will not be in the stadium.
Nagelsmann is still TSG’s record coach. After his move to Leipzig, he faced 1899 four times and has not lost at all. If there is a home defeat on Saturday, it will be hard to credit the Bayern coach.
Surprisingly, Bayern are at the top of the standings after eight matchdays, but have not yet been able to distance themselves from the competition. The pursuers from Dortmund, Leverkusen and Freiburg are all within three points. Nevertheless, one must make a clear prediction for a home win in the match between Bayern and Hoffenheim.
Both teams scored five goals in the league last weekend and celebrated a high win. It sounds like a bet on many goals should be a good choice in the Bayern vs Hoffenheim match. In the standings, TSG thus finds itself in ninth place with eleven points. Mediocrity seems to be the lot in the Kraichgau at the moment.
Bayern – statistics & current form
Normally, it is Robert Lewandowski who is permanently in the record hunt. Manuel Neuer, however, could now celebrate another anniversary after his 100th game in the Champions League. Should FC Bayern win on Saturday, it would be the 300th Bundesliga victory for the national keeper. Only his predecessor Oliver Kahn has a few more to his name with 310 Bundesliga victories.
Lewandowski as a sure bet?
Robert Lewandowski, however, will not be left out of our analysis. The Pole has already scored 17 times against Oliver Baumann. No other Bundesliga keeper has been beaten more often by the Munich centre-forward. In general, it always makes sense to check the odds on a goal by Robert Lewandowski in every match, including the Bayern vs Hoffenheim duel.
Of course, one would like to say, he was successful again during the week. For a long time, it looked like a draw in the Champions League against Benfica Lisbon. It was only in the last 20 minutes that Bayern came away with a clear 4-0 victory after goals from Leroy Sane (2), Robert Lewandowski and an own goal by the Portuguese, incidentally already without Julian Nagelsmann on the sidelines.
The coach will also be replaced on Saturday by his assistant Dino Toppmöller, but is likely to continue pulling the strings by phone. The situation with the players is much better. With substitute goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, only one player is missing due to injury. That means that Alphonso Davies and Leon Goretzka, who were still missing in Lisbon, should be fit for action on Saturday.
Predicted Bayern line-up:
Neuer – Pavard, Süle, Upamecano, Hernandez – Kimmich, Sabitzer – Gnabry, Müller, Sane – Lewandowski – Coach: Toppmöller
Last matches played by Bayern:
Champions League Grp. E
10/20 2021 – Benfica 0 – 4 Bayern Munich
1st Bundesliga
10/17 2021 – Bayer Leverkusen 1 – 5 Bayern Munich
10/03 2021 – Bayern Munich 1 – 2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Champions League Grp. E
09/29 2021 – Bayern Munich 5 – 0 Dynamo Kiev
1st Bundesliga
09/24 2021 – Greuther Fürth 1 – 3 Bayern Munich
Hoffenheim – Statistics & current form
For Sebastian Hoeneß it is always special when he comes to Munich, where he not only meets his family, but where he also worked very successfully as coach of the second team of FC Bayern. The performance in the Allianz Arena should now also be successful with TSG Hoffenheim, but the Kraichgauer have big problems away from home.
Not going well away
Things have not been going well away from home for 1899 in recent weeks. TSG have only picked up one point from their last three away games in the Bundesliga. It doesn’t help that no team is more unpredictable with twelve different goal scorers. Nevertheless, it remains the case that between Bayern and Hoffenheim the prediction is for a clear home win.
After all, TSG travels to Munich with a broad chest, because the game last weekend was worth watching, even if the opponent from Cologne was rather indisposed over 90 minutes. However, this circumstance can also be attributed to the strong play of the Kraichgauer, who gained the upper hand with 5:0 after goals from Ihlas Bebou (2), Christoph Baumgartner, Dennis Geiger and Stefan Posch.
The Hoffenheim side will still have to do without numerous injured players. Ermin Bicakcic, Benjamin Hübner, Marco John and Pavel Kaderabek will certainly not be fit for action on Saturday. There is much to suggest that Sebastian Hoeneß will not make any changes, at least to the system, after they beat 1. FC Köln convincingly.
Predicted line-up of Hoffenheim:
Baumann – Posch, Grillitsch, Richards – Akpogouma, Raum – Geiger, Samassekou, Baumgartner – Kramaric, Bebou – Coach: Hoeneß
Last matches played by Hoffenheim:
1st Bundesliga
10/15 2021 – Hoffenheim 5 – 0 1. FC Köln
10/02 2021 – VfB Stuttgart 3 – 1 Hoffenheim
09/25 2021 – Hoffenheim 3 – 1 Vfl Wolfsburg
09/18 2021 – Arminia Bielefeld 0 – 0 Hoffenheim
09/11 2021 – Hoffenheim 0 – 2 Mainz 05
Bayern – Hoffenheim Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The Kraichgauer’s record against FC Bayern is truly manageable. Out of 28 games, only four went to TSG Hoffenheim. The Munich side, on the other hand, celebrated 19 victories and had to settle for a draw five times. However, no Bundesliga team has scored more points against FC Bayern in the last ten games than 1899 Hoffenheim.
Last season, for example, there was a clear 4:1 victory for the Kraichgauer in Sinsheim. However, the Munich side have already taken revenge for this defeat, as FC Bayern won 4:1 in their last direct encounter at the end of January. Jerome Boateng, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry scored for Bayern. Andrej Kramaric was successful for Hoffenheim.
Bayern – Hoffenheim Tip
The German champions will be Bayern Munich, there is no great doubt about that. For bettors, however, it is important to have the right nose if Julian Nagelsmann’s team should stumble, in order to take the high quotes with them. Even if Hoffenheim has looked good against the FCB from time to time recently, we do not expect the record champions to slip up.
The last two performances in Leverkusen and Lisbon were too strong for that. The Kraichgauer celebrated a high victory over 1. FC Köln last week, but have been waiting for a win away from home for three games. From this point of view, there are no two opinions that a bet on a home win between Bayern and Hoffenheim is without alternative.
We even think that Bayern will continue to impressively prove what they are capable of, even if the head coach will not be on site. We expect a clear victory and have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-2.5) for the Munich team in the match between FC Bayern and Hoffenheim.
