Fortuna Düsseldorf will face TSG Hoffenheim in its own stadium on Saturday-afternoon. The guests have a busy schedule with the European competitions. Do they start that series with a victory?
Fortuna Düsseldorf:
The PhD candidate from Düsseldorf is the adventure in the Bundesliga with a point from two matches. After the disappointing and somewhat unjust defeat in the game against FC Augsburg (1-2), Fortuna fought well. On visiting RB Leipzig, the team played with 1-1 draw. It was striking that the best opportunities were in fact for the newcomer at the highest level. Marvin Duksch and Benito Raman even had the chance of winning in the final stages, but met the goalkeeper of Leipzig (1-1).
Therefore, the number of points for Die Flingeraner is not yet to write home, but the game presented offers hope for the future. What struck Leipzig was that the team of trainer Friedhelm Funkel, especially in the first half, dared to play football and put high pressure. For the Saturday match, Funkel can have a fairly complete group. Diego Contento (ex-FC Bayern) is still missing.
TSG Hoffenheim:
TSG Hoffenheim finished third in the Bundesliga last season. As a result, the club managed to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. Of course this is both sporting and financially good news, but it does mean that a busy program has to be completed this autumn. Right now, the TSG has the bad luck that there are a lot of injured people. No less than eight players, who are all basic, are on the sidelines on Saturday. As a result, there are few opportunities for trainer Julian Nagelsmann to rotate, especially in the back.
Hoffenheim plays seven matches in 22 days, so normally Nagelsmann would rotate. “Some players will have to play,” the young coach said. Perhaps there will be more playing time for Justin Hoogma and Joshua Brenet in the coming weeks, who will be a substitute for the time being. In the attack there are some possibilities to rotate. Adam Szalai will probably start. He scored a Doppelpack in the previous game, which resulted in a knocking of SC Freiburg (3-1).
PREDICTION: Hoffenheim to win @ 1.91
