FC Koln vs Hoffenheim prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-09-15 13:30.
The international break arguably came at a fantastic time for Cologne, as they failed to win their first three matches of a Bundesliga campaign for the first time since 2020/21, a season in which they needed a relegation play-off to survive! Regrouping during this time could be easier said than done, with a large contingent of the Cologne squad being kept busy with international duties.
That sense of trepidation is compounded by a shocking home league H2H record since the start of October 2015 (D3, L4) as well as the fact that the Billy Goats have won just one of their last eight home league games against any side. Cologne’s 2-1 defeat against Wolfsburg was the first game in that run which saw them score first and fail to win, yet that is exactly what happened the last time Hoffenheim rolled into town.
Much like his opposite number, Hoffenheim boss Pellegrino Matarazzo has had to contend with a subdued international break with a dozen of his players called up. The Sinsheimers finished just three points above the drop zone last season, but after picking up two wins from their opening three games this campaign, they would be forgiven for aiming much higher this time around.
Three of those points came on the road as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in Heidenheim’s very first Bundesliga home game. Building on that with another away win will probably be easier said than done given Hoffenheim have not put together back-to-back Bundesliga road victories since March 2022, but curiously enough, the second win in that particular sequence was against none other than Cologne!
Players to watch: Florian Kainz kept his 100% scoring rate of German Bundesliga penalties alive when he put Cologne ahead in the last round (G5), before assisting for his native Austria during the break. He will face his Austrian midfield partner Florian Grillitsch, who is more likely to be booked than score with three cautions across his nine Bundesliga meetings with Cologne.
Hot stat: Cologne conceded exactly two goals in five of their last eight Bundesliga home games.