Will TSG now also end their winless streak?

Last weekend, 1. FC Köln ended a six-game winless streak in the league (three draws, three defeats) with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. TSG Hoffenheim, who are currently without a win in six Bundesliga games (three draws, three defeats), will be looking to achieve the same feat. In principle, the betting tip for a home win for Hoffenheim against Cologne is also under a good star:

After all, TSG have won nine of their last eleven league games against the Effzeh (one draw, one defeat) and won the first leg 3:1 in the cathedral city. However, building on these successes will not be a foregone conclusion. After all, the team from Kraichgau have won just one of their last eleven Bundesliga games (five draws, five defeats), which should also be taken into account in the predictions for Hoffenheim v Cologne

For the time being, 1. FC Köln has remained too pale, especially offensively. The mere 14 goals are a league low. TSG Hoffenheim, on the other hand, struggled to defend at times. Not only were the Sinsheim side the only Bundesliga club apart from FC Augsburg to remain without a clean sheet in home matches in 2023/24, but the team from Kraichgau have also been waiting for twelve Bundesliga home games to finally record a clean sheet.

In view of the potentially broken knot at the Billy Goats, it makes little sense to rely on the three-way system. Instead, we are once again expecting Hoffenheim to come away with a clean sheet and are therefore predicting that both teams will score.

Hoffenheim – Statistics & current form

TSG Hoffenheim initially got off to a good start and were in sixth place in the table after matchday 14. However, the team from the Kraichgau region then felt the effects of their recent slump in the table.

Because only bottom-placed Darmstadt 98 managed to collect fewer points (four) than Sinsheim (eight) over the last eleven matchdays, the Blue & Whites have now slipped to eighth place. As a result, they would have missed out on qualifying for an international competition once again

Hoffenheim is still on a downward spiral

Naturally, TSG still have plenty of time to start a positive streak. Before that, however, the Kraichgauers must first stop their negative streak. Hoffenheim have currently gone six league games in a row without a win (three draws, three defeats).

In fact, the club from Baden-Württemberg have only won one of their last eleven Bundesliga games (five draws, five defeats). We are therefore all the more surprised that the bookmakers’ odds for Hoffenheim v Cologne are so clearly in favor of Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team, who have won nine of their last eleven encounters with the Effzeh (one draw, one defeat)

Hoffenheim are simply too vulnerable defensively

One of Sinsheim’s biggest shortcomings is undoubtedly their weakness at home. Only Darmstadt and Mainz (six each) have scored fewer points at home than Hoffenheim (nine) so far in the 2023/24 season. TSG were certainly powerful at home, as evidenced by the 16 goals they scored in nine home games.

Defensively, however, the Baden-Württemberg side’s performance could be improved at best. The 18 goals conceded at home in nine games is the second-highest tally behind Darmstadt 98 (23), with the Sinsheim side the only Bundesliga club apart from FC Augsburg not to have conceded a goal in any home game in the 2023/24 season. Over the course of the season, there have been twelve Bundesliga home games in a row without a clean sheet.

Predicted Hoffenheim line-up:

Cologne – Statistics & current form

After two quiet seasons, qualifying for the UEFA Conference League and finishing eleventh in last year’s final table, 1. FC Köln are currently experiencing a very complicated season. As a result, Steffen Baumgart had to pack his bags in the winter, with Timo Schultz taking over.

Initially, however, the change of coach did not bring about a turnaround, before the Billy Goats finally flipped the switch last weekend and beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2:0. Nevertheless, the situation remains precarious

Cologne still stuck deep in the basement

With just 15 points from 20 games, the Effzeh are 16th in the table and, as things stand, would have to go into the relegation play-offs. They are already three points off the drop zone. The gap to 14th place is already six points.

It would therefore be good for the cathedral city team if Hoffenheim’s bet on the visiting team winning a point against Cologne were to work out. However, Cologne have lost five of their last six matches at the PreZero Arena (one win) and, to make matters worse, have failed to score in four of those six games

Cologne is far too tame offensively

Weakness on the road is also a major problem in the 2023/24 season. The Effzeh won just one of their ten Bundesliga away games (three draws, six defeats) and scored a pitiful five goals away from home. That equates to an average of just 0.5 away goals per game in the top flight of German soccer.

Overall, Cologne also have the weakest offense in the top flight of German soccer with just 14 goals from 20 league games. If you break these 14 goals down even further, you also see that just seven goals have been scored from play. That’s not only an absolute Bundesliga low, but normally also far too few to keep the team in the league.

Predicted Cologne line-up:

Hoffenheim – Cologne head-to-head comparison / H2H result

Head to head: 14 – 7 – 9

There have been a total of 30 meetings between the two teams, with TSG Hoffenheim leading the direct comparison with 14 wins. The duel has been clearly in the hands of the Sinsheimers, especially in the recent past, who also won the first leg in Cologne 3:1 and recorded their ninth win in the last eleven Bundesliga duels with the Billy Goats alone (one draw, one defeat)

Hoffenheim – Cologne betting tip

At the moment, the odds of the providers for Hoffenheim against Cologne are in favor of the home team. However, it should be noted that TSG are not only out of form and have not won in six Bundesliga games (three draws, three defeats), but are also weak at home. Sinsheim have picked up just nine points in nine Bundesliga home games in the 2023/24 season, in which they have also conceded 18 goals

With the Effzeh, the weakest attack in the Bundesliga is now coming to Baden-Württemberg. Nevertheless, after their 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, we think the Geißböcken have a good chance of at least scoring the away goal in Kraichgau.