Two new coaches hope for the perfect debut
Daniel Farke is the name of the new man at the helm of the Bundesliga club from Mönchengladbach. The 45-year-old, who previously coached the U23s of the other Borussia from Dortmund and led Norwich City to the Premier League, succeeds Adi Hütter, who had to take his hat off after a completely messed-up last season. With Farke on the sidelines, the Foals are targeting a perfect start to the new league season on Saturday afternoon.
Looking at the bookmakers’ odds ahead of the opening match between Gladbach and Hoffenheim, a home win is definitely within the realms of possibility. The 2.15 in the top on the eleven from the Lower Rhine implies a probability of occurrence of 46%. Incidentally, the most recent encounter was not long ago. On the 34th matchday of the previous season, the Rhinelanders had the upper hand with 5:1. At that time, however, the coaching duel was still Hütter versus Hoeneß.
Now, in addition to the aforementioned Daniel Farke, Andre Breitenreiter is also celebrating his Bundesliga debut as head coach on the TSG bench. For the former Schalker and Hannover man, it is a comeback in Germany’s top division, after he was able to attract attention last year thanks to the championship title with FC Zurich.
In his first competitive match, the ex-professional narrowly missed embarrassment with his Kraichgauers in the DFB Pokal. If there is no significant improvement in performance at the weekend, a prediction on the host between Gladbach and Hoffenheim should pay off.
Gladbach – statistics & current form
For many Gladbach fans, it must have felt like redemption when the 2021/22 campaign finally came to an end and the Adi Hütter misunderstanding was brought to an end by the club. Although there was a feeling in the last third of the season that the Foals were slowly catching up, the bottom line was a more than disappointing tenth place. For the second consecutive season, the international competition will therefore take place without Borussia.
But this could also turn out to be an opportunity in 2022/23, because without the multiple workload, the new coach Daniel Farke has more time to implement his idea of the game in the players’ heads. But such a general overhaul is also needed, because in purely qualitative terms, the former German champions have a rock-solid squad that allows them to talk about a return to the top six of the Bundesliga.
Can Farke spark a new spirit of optimism?
But it will be of enormous importance that Yann Sommer and Co. get the season off to the best possible start, banish the negative vibes from the pre-season from their own minds and develop a winning mentality early on. On a positive note, none of the past 20 Gladbach coaches lost their first Bundesliga game. Bernd Kraus was the last to start a tenure with a defeat in the league in 1992. In this impressive record, nine wins are offset by eleven draws.
But the Rhinelanders will hardly be satisfied with a draw on Saturday afternoon, after all the home Borussia Park is to become a real fortress again. Defensively, in particular, there is room for improvement. Only two other clubs conceded more goals than BMG in 2021/22. There were 61 of them. However, 54 goals of their own underline the fact that matches involving Borussia were regularly spectacular. It is quite possible that this trend will continue with the new coach and that in the Gladbach vs. Hoffenheim duel, the odds on over-goals or “both score” will go through.
The injured captain Lars Stindl and Hannes Wolf will not be available at the weekend. Yann Sommer will return to goal after recovering from his injury. From the point of view of the Foals fans, it remains to be hoped that the Swiss, who flirted with a move abroad in the summer, will continue his performances from last season. There are still question marks over whether Friedrich and Koné will play.
Predicted line-up of Gladbach:
Sommer – Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Kramer, Neuhaus – Herrmann, Hofmann, Plea – Thuram
Last matches played by Gladbach:
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – SV Oberachern 1 – 9 Gladbach
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Gladbach 1 – 1 Real Sociedad
20/07/2022 – Gladbach 1 – 1 RKC Waalwijk
17/07/2022 – Athletic Bilbao 0 – 0 Gladbach
17/07/2022 – MSV Duisburg 0 – 1 Gladbach
Hoffenheim – Statistics & current form
For long stretches of the last season, TSG Hoffenheim certainly lived up to their own expectations. For a long time, it looked as if the Kraichgauer could return to the international football stage, but a completely messed-up last third of the season prevented them from making it into the top seven.
In the final nine Bundesliga games, 1899 remained winless. In the entire period, only three meagre points were recorded, more than any other team. The Blue and Whites dropped to ninth place in the final standings and consequently dismissed their coach Sebastian Hoeneß.
His successor is Andre Breitenreiter, who already knows the Bundesliga from his time at Schalke 04 and Hannover 96, with whom the former striker was even promoted from the second division. After an extremely successful time with FC Zurich, the 48-year-old is now venturing back to Germany. The task in Sinsheim is a tough one, after all TSG played the second weakest second half of the season in the club’s history with only 18 points. They conceded a whopping 34 goals in 17 games.
Much is new at the TSG
The fact that he and his coaching team have a lot of work ahead of them was also proven by the cup match the previous week, which they only won 2-0 against regional league side Rödinghausen after extra time. During the week, a key player, David Raum, was released, but two new players, Eduardo Quaresma and Stanley Nsoki, were also signed. A lot is new at the Kraichgau club. It may therefore take some time before the full potential can be exploited.
In view of this, we prefer a tip in favour of the home side between Gladbach and Hoffenheim. The fact that “Hoffe” won the opening game in each of the last two seasons does not change this. Against this background, those who do not want to place a bet on the three-way market can opt for a combination of the double chance 1X & goal successes on both sides. Kramaric and Co. are always good for at least one goal.
The only thing causing headaches for coach Breitenreiter is the strained personnel situation already before the first matchday. The two defenders Bicakcic and Hübner are out, as are Ihlas Bebou and Dennis Geiger in the offensive. The departed Raum is likely to be replaced in Skov’s 3-5-2 system. With Prömel and Kabak, two newcomers are expected in the starting eleven.
Predicted line-up of Hoffenheim:
Baumann – Posch, Vogt, Kabak – Kaderabek, Samassekou, Skov – Prömel, Baumgartner – Bruun Larsen, Kramaric
Last matches played by Hoffenheim:
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – SV Rödinghausen 0 – 2 Hoffenheim
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Hoffenheim 3 – 2 Verona
16/07/2022 – Salernitana 2 – 2 Hoffenheim
13/07/2022 – Hoffenheim 2 – 0 Puskas FC Academy
09/07/2022 – Hoffenheim 2 – 0 FC Heidenheim
Gladbach – Hoffenheim Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
28 of the total of 31 competitive duels have taken place between the two clubs in the German top flight. The majority of these 28 encounters ended in a draw (eleven). In addition, there have only been eight Gladbach victories and nine wins for TSG Hoffenheim.
Incidentally, the Kraichgauer have not played more competitive matches against any other club than against Borussia. The most recent encounter went to the Foals on matchday 34 of the pre-season with 5:1. However, we do not expect such a clear result on Saturday.
Gladbach – Hoffenheim tip
Nearly three months ago, the duel on the bench was still Adi Hütter versus Sebastian Hoeneß. When Borussia from Mönchengladbach meet the Sinsheim side again on Saturday lunchtime on the first matchday of the new Bundesliga season, Daniel Farke and Andre Breitenreiter will shake hands before kick-off. Two new coaches are emblematic of many changes of a tactical and personnel nature. Consequently, it is difficult to make a prediction on the outcome of the match between Gladbach and Hoffenheim.
Nevertheless, based on the impressions in the DFB Pokal and the existing quality of both teams, we see slight advantages for the home side, who also had a decent finish to the season, winning four of the last seven home games and, among other things, were able to put TSG in their place with 5:1 on matchday 34.
The visitors from Kraichgau are still reeling from their tired performance in the cup and nine games without a win at the end of last season. The team is still in the process of finding its way after the departure of David Raum and will probably need a little more time. At the same time, 1899 traditionally stands for attractive and not always well-balanced offensive football.
In our eyes, it is therefore a smart option to combine the betting odds on the 1X with those of the bet “Both score” before the match Gladbach vs. In total, we get a 1.83, which we play with a stake of six units.
