Fresh from booking their place in the final of the DFB-Pokal, Eintracht Frankfurt will endeavour to fix their poor Bundesliga form when they face Hoffenheim at the PreZero Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Frankfurt have slipped to ninth in the Bundesliga table due to a nine-game winless run, while Hoffenheim find themselves 14th – one point clear of the bottom three – following back-to-back defeats.
Match preview
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It is no secret that Hoffenheim endured a monumental mid-season slump, posting a 15-game winless streak between October and March, with eight successive defeats coming at the end of that sequence.
Understandably, the club parted ways with manager Andre Breitenreiter in the midst of the winless run, replacing him with Pellegrino Matarazzo, who eventually stopped the rot with a handful of positive results.
After notching three straight victories over Hertha Berlin, Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, Matarazzo's men extended their unbeaten streak to four matches with an impressive 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich, but Die Kraichgauer swiftly slipped back into old habits.
Following a 3-1 loss to FC Koln, Hoffenheim suffered a 1-0 defeat at RB Leipzig last time out, managing a solitary shot on target at the Red Bull Arena while reigniting relegation fears in Sinsheim.
Sitting just one point clear of the relegation playoff spot and two points clear of the automatic drop zone, Hoffenheim will need to turn the tide quickly if they want to secure their top-flight status for another season.
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Following a run of nine league games without a win, Eintracht Frankfurt gave their fans something to cheer about as they dispatched Stuttgart on Wednesday to set up a DFB-Pokal final showdown with RB Leipzig.
The Eagles found themselves 1-0 down at half time but swiftly turned the tie around after the break, with goals from Evan Ndicka, Daichi Kamada and Randal Kolo Muani completing a 3-2 victory at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Naturally, Oliver Glasner will be hoping that his players can carry their cup form onto the Bundesliga stage as the season nears its end, with last weekend's 1-1 draw against Augsburg taking Frankfurt's winless run in the league to nine matches.
It is also worth noting that Frankfurt have managed to win just two of their last 14 Bundesliga encounters, taking five points from a possible 27 since defeating Werder Bremen back in February.
Worse still, the Eagles have failed to win any of their last nine away league outings, with five defeats coming in their previous six matches on the road, while they have also conceded at least two goals in each of their past six away league games.
Team News
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Hoffenheim will be without the injured trio of Jacob Bruun Larsen (groin), Justin Che (knee) and Kevin Vogt (knee) for Saturday's showdown.
There are also question marks over the fitness of Pavel Kaderabek (thigh) and Angelo Stiller (knee), with the latter missing last weekend's defeat at RB Leipzig.
Oliver Baumann will continue between the sticks behind centre-backs Kevin Akpoguma, John Brooks and Ozan Kabak, while Mu'nas Dabbur and Ihlas Bebou are expected to start in attack.
As for the visitors, Kristijan Jakic (calf), Philipp Max (muscle) and Hrvoje Smolcic (knee) look set to remain sidelined through injury for the foreseeable future.
Having chalked up 21 goals and 15 assists in all competitions this term, Randal Kolo Muani will continue to lead the line for Frankfurt, with Mario Gotze and Daichi Kamada offering attacking support.
Elsewhere, Djibril Sow and Sebastian Rode are expected to anchor the midfield, while goalkeeper Kevin Trapp should retain his place in the starting XI.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kabak, Brooks, Akpoguma; Kaderabek, Kramaric, Geiger, Baumgartner, Tasende; Bebou, Dabour
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hasebe, Ndicka; Dina Ebimbe, Rode, Sow, Lenz; Kamada, Gotze; Kolo Muani
We say: Hoffenheim 1-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Buoyed by Wednesday's DFB-Pokal success, Eintracht Frankfurt look set to end their winless run in the Bundesliga with a much-needed victory over relegation-threatened Hoffenheim, who are on course to suffer a third successive defeat.
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