BVB aim to secure three points at home against away specialists TSG | OneFootball

The scenarioOnly two points separate BVB (third in the table, 25 points) and TSG (fifth in the table, 23 points). The situation was different when the two teams last met: Borussia, in seventh place, were away to the team in fifteenth – that was in April 2025, when BVB won a wild game 3-2. Eight months later, the Black & Yellows are now four places higher than they were then, while Hoffenheim are ten places higher. It is not just because of their position in the table that TSG are “a very serious and difficult opponent to play against,” as Niko Kovac explains: Hoffenheim have won all of their away games this season and have the best away record ahead of Matchday 13 (having played one game more than Bayern Munich) and are unbeaten in their last six games. BVB have won their last five Bundesliga matches.

Personnel mattersNiklas Süle, who has been struggling with a toe injury for several weeks, took part in team training for the first time on Friday afternoon – but it is still too early for the centre-back to play on Sunday, Kovac explained at the press conference ahead of the match against Hoffenheim. “He can’t just train once and then play at the weekend, that’s impossible. It will take a little longer,” said the BVB coach, who has the full squad at his disposal apart from Süle.

The oppositionFor Kovac, TSG are the strongest of all the opponents BVB have faced at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK so far this season. “They are in exceptionally good form, they are very strong runners and play with intensity. That will be a challenge for us,” explained the BVB coach on Friday morning. What Kovac means by this is that Hoffenheim have not lost an away game this season and have picked up 16 out of a possible 18 points in their last six Bundesliga games. A draw or a win on Sunday in Dortmund would equal the club’s away record. That is exactly what Borussia Dortmund want to prevent, because, despite all Hoffenheim’s strengths, “we are playing at home and want to take all three points against a direct rival,” said Kovac. “To do that, we have to play well – but I’m convinced we can.”

Dortmund records in SinsheimA total of four players from the current BVB squad have played for TSG in the past. Maximilian Beier was under contract with Hoffenheim from 2018 until his move to Dortmund in 2024. It was in Sinsheim that he matured into a senior player: On Matchday 21 of the 2019/2020 season, the forward became the youngest Bundesliga player in TSG history at the age of 17 years, three months and 21 days – replacing his current Dortmund teammate Niklas Süle (17 years, eight months, eight days), who played in Sinsheim from 2010 to 2017. In addition to Süle and Beier, Gregor Kobel (2014 to 2019) and Pascal Gross (2007 to 2010) also played for Hoffenheim in the past.Nina Bargel-Neuhaus