Hoffenheim will be looking to boost their hopes of securing a top-six finish in the Bundesliga table when they welcome Union Berlin to the PreZero Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts are currently seventh in the division, level on points with sixth-placed Wolfsburg, while Union Berlin sit 12th with 38 points to show from their 32 matches this season.

Match preview

Hoffenheim's Steven Zuber and Christoph Baumgartner celebrate score on May 27, 2020 © Reuters

Hoffenheim announced earlier this month that they had parted ways with head coach Alfred Schreuder with immediate effect, despite the fact that the club were in the latter stages of their Bundesliga campaign and searching for a top-six finish.

A team of coaches alongside director of football Alexander Rosen are leading the side in the latter stages of the season, and there is simply no downplaying the importance of this weekend's clash.

Die Kraichgauer bounced back from a home defeat against RB Leipzig by overcoming Augsburg on Wednesday night, which has left them in seventh position in the table.

They are level on points with sixth-placed Wolfsburg at this stage and will be determined to pick up a positive result this weekend considering that their final game of the season is away to Borussia Dortmund on June 27.

Union Berlin players celebrate Marcus Ingvartsen's goal on May 27, 2020 © Reuters

Union Berlin are competing in their first ever season at this level of football, and they can be extremely proud of their performances in the Bundesliga during the 2019-20 campaign.

A total of 38 points from 32 matches has left them in 12th position in the table, meaning that their spot in next season's top flight is already secure with two games left.

Die Eisernen were actually in deep trouble when they lost 4-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of May, but they have taken seven points from their last three matches, including back-to-back victories over Koln and Paderborn, to move out of trouble.

Urs Fischer's side will finish their season with a home game against Fortuna Dusseldorf on June 27, and the pressure is now off the players ahead of their final two matches.

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form: DWWDLW

Union Berlin Bundesliga form: LDLDWW

Team News

Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on December 20, 2019 © Reuters

Hoffenheim are again expected to be without the services of Sargis Adamyan and Ishak Belfodil through injury, but the home side have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday's clash.

Moanes Dabour scored twice in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Augsburg and will again lead the line, while Jacob Bruun Larsen should also keep his spot in the final third of the field.

As for Union Berlin, Sebastian Polter, Christopher Lenz, Julian Ryerson and Sheraldo Becker are all still injured, while Laurenz Dehl and Akaki Gogia will face late fitness tests.

Felix Kroos and Joshua Mees are among those hoping to earn a spot in the away side's XI on Saturday.

There are not expected to be many surprises from the side that started against Paderborn, though, with Sebastian Andersson again likely to lead the attack.

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Bosch, Grillitsch, Hubner; Kaderabek, Samassekou, Rudy, Baumgartner, Skov; Dabour, Larsen

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Trimmel, Friedrich, Schlotterbeck, Reichel; Ingvartsen, Gentner, Promel, Andrich, Bulter; Andersson

We say: Hoffenheim 2-1 Union Berlin

There is no question that it is a bigger match for Hoffenheim than it is for Union Berlin, who are already safe from the threat of relegation. The visitors are capable of pulling off a surprise, but we fancy Hoffenheim to put an important three points on the board as they battle for a top-six spot.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hoffenheim win with a probability of 41.86%. A win for Union Berlin had a probability of 34.06% and a draw had a probability of 24.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Hoffenheim win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.77%) and 2-0 (6.23%). The likeliest Union Berlin win was 1-2 (7.88%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.06%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Hoffenheim would win this match.