Hoffenheim – Freiburg

Bundesliga Round 1
Hoffenheim, August 19, 15:30 CET

Hoffenheim will have a strong motive to beat Freiburg at home in the first round of the Bundesliga. The team of the American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has no triumph in the last four matches against this opponent.
Overall, in their matches it would most often be shown that Freiburg is the tactically more dominant and mature team, and Hoffenheim is the offensively more competent. Since December 2021 and a 2:1 victory, Hoffenheim have not triumphed against this rival - and in that period, Freiburg managed to win as many as three times.
However, with the arrival of coach Matarazzo at the club from Hoffenheim during last season, the team's results improved overall. From fighting for survival, the team managed to reach 12th place in the Bundesliga at the end of the previous season. Hoffenheim, especially at home, wants to play offensively and proactively against everyone, in order to earn a place in the upper part of the table in the new season. It is a team against which rivals will also have chances to score goals.
When it comes to the matches between these opponents, in the last seven duels between each other, even six times it happened that both teams scored a goal in the game. Counting on the proverbial attacking approach of the hosts, it is easy to expect that we will see at least three goals in this match at the start of the new Bundesliga campaign.
On Monday, Hoffenheim beat third-tier Lubeck 4:1 at the start of the competition in the national cup DFB Pokal. During the preparations, the team achieved only two victories in six matches - but these were duels with teams of greater renown. Almost every one of those matches was marked by attacking, open play.
Bringing Dutch striker Wout Weghorst, on loan from English club Burnley, is extremely important for the home team. The experienced striker will provide the team with exceptional options in pressing and attacking maneuvers, which could certainly make Hoffenheim one of the most efficient teams in the Bundesliga. The hosts will play without injured players Dennis Geiger, Fisnik Asllani and Umut Tohumcu, which should not overly affect their game. Freiburg will be without important midfielder Nicolas Hofler, who is suspended for the red card he received at the end of last season. His absence is really a handicap for the visitors.
On the other hand, Freiburg has many reasons to believe in its quality. The team finished the last Bundesliga season in an excellent fifth place, and the backbone of the team was preserved during the summer. Freiburg avoided defeat four times in the last five official games - and in four friendly games during the summer they achieved three victories and a draw.
The outcome of the match is difficult to predict, traditionally these are matches in which the teams demonstrate they have abouth the same quality. In their last 30 duels, they played a draw 11 times and Freiburg won 12 times. However, goals are guaranteed, and both teams are expected to play without defensive approach, especially in the last half hour of the duel.