Hoffenheim vs RB Leipzig Predictions, Betting Tips, & Match Preview

Hoffenheim’s “great escape” from relegation last season can only be accredited to one man, coach Julian Nagelsmann. Nagelsmann is the youngest ever Bundesliga coach and was only 28 years old when he took the first-team reins in February 2016. He pushed Hoffenheim to safety with an attacking, entertaining brand of football, and will now turn his attention to building upon his teams performances on a long-term basis. He has already stated that relegation is not even a thought because even considering it would “not be setting a target”. Hoffenheim started off their 2016/2017 campaign with a bang as they won 6-0 on their travels to fourth tier side FC Germania Egestorf in the first round of the DFB Pokal.

Plenty of parallels have been drawn between Leipzig’s rise to the top league and Hoffenheim’s own ascent. RB Leipzig (aka “RasenBallsport Leipzig”) are another side who have risen rapidly through the German leagues, though are now playing top flight football for the first time in their short history since their foundation as a team by Red Bull GmbH in 2009. After two seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, RB Leipzig finished 2nd last year and earnt themselves a coveted automatic promotion place. RB Leipzig have invested about £20 million so far this summer,  with 21-year old central midfielder Naby Keita from Red Bull Salzburg and 20-year old striker Timo Werner (13 goals from 86 appearances) from the relegated VfB Stuttgart being their main signings. Though these are signings that will, nonetheless, improve their overall squad strength, they are still very much a younger and less experienced side than most in the Bundesliga.

RB Leipzig become the 55th member to ever play in the Bundesliga on Sunday, but we feel that they’ll leave Hoffenheim disappointed. Hoffenheim have brought in a few decent players over the transfer window, including star striker Sandro Wagner from Darmstadt 98 (14 goals in 32 appearances last season) and winger Andrej Kramaric from Leicester City. Both of these players have already shown their potential, with Wagner bagging one and Kramaric taking away a hat-trick from Hoffenheim’s 6-0 first round DFP Pokal win last Sunday. Contrastingly, RB Leipzig started their 2016/2017 competitive campaign with a deflating knockout from the first round of the cup via penalties to rivals Dynamo Dresden. Both teams have never met on the field before so we can’t use trends to see how they fared against other in the past. What is notable, however, is the stark contrast in Hoffenheim’s strong home and RB Leipzig’s weak away form (see statistics).

As such, we expect the experienced hosts to be better value for a bet here. TSG Hoffenheim to win at 29/20 and Hoffenheim to win 2-1 at 17/2 with bet365 are our choice bets for this Bundesliga match.