After TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s furious last-minute draw against Olympique Lyon, it is half time in the preliminary round of the Europa League. The starting position improved with the 2-2 equalizer against Lyon. We played a draw against Midtjylland and Lyon. A home win against Kyiv was followed by a defeat at FC Porto. As of now, Hoffenheim is in 19th place in the Europa League table with five out of twelve possible points. What are the chances of scoring the necessary points in the remaining four games?
Sporting Braga – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
1899 Hoffenheim will play away at Sporting Braga on November 26th. The Portuguese have had to look back on a disappointing preliminary round so far: they conceded seven goals in the first four games. Yesterday Braga drew 1-1 against IF Elfsborg. As of now, they are in 26th place in the table with four points from four games – and would have been eliminated straight away.
Due to the weak starting position, Braga appears to be a solvable task. Nevertheless, the fourth-placed team in the Portuguese league should not be underestimated. The team can confidently be described as a “lucky bag”. Two teams with similar results meet. With a unified team performance, a victory should be possible for TSG.
TSG Hoffenheim – Steaua Bucharest
Steaua Bucharest can be satisfied with the results so far. The Romanians clearly won their first game against Riga. In the second game, PAOK Saloniki was defeated. On the third matchday there was a 1:4 defeat against Glasgow Rangers.
The heavy defeat against the Rangers was shaken off well. Yesterday the team won 2-0 against FC Midtjyland. TSG therefore has to throw everything into the balance in order to be able to score three points.
Hoffenheim – Tottenham Hotspur
On January 23, 2025, Hoffenheim will face Tottenham Hotspur at home. After the 2-3 defeat against Galatasaray Istanbul, Spurs are in seventh place with nine points from four games. The Londoners have been quite convincing so far. Despite the defeat against Gala, coach Ange Postecoglu’s team can confidently be described as a top team.
Even though a lot can change in the eight weeks leading up to the game, TSG is faced with the fourth strongest attack in the Europa League. Especially with the somewhat shaky defense and poor conversion of chances, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team will probably have to have a great day in order to take anything away.
RSC Anderlecht – Hoffenheim
On the last matchday, on January 30, 2025, Baden will travel to Anderlecht for the away game. The Belgians are in good form. The first game against Ferencvàros was won. This was followed by victories against Real Sociedad and Ludogorez Razgrad. However, the RSC had to accept a small disappointment against Riga on matchday four. Against the Latvians they couldn’t get beyond a 1-1 draw.
The balance after four games stands at ten points. The Kraichgauers face one of the best teams in the Europa League. Anderlecht have only conceded three goals. It will be a similarly difficult game as against Tottenham.
Conclusion: TSG Hoffenheim absolutely has to score points in the games against Sporting Braga and Steaua Bucharest. Then a placement in the top 24 is realistic. The games against Anderlecht and Tottenham are considered “bonus games”. If you score there too, you can probably book your ticket for the round of 16 playoffs. Coach Matarazzo was recently confident: “We’re not wasting any competition,” said the American before the home game against Lyon.
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