Hoffenheim and Freiburg will begin their 2023/24 Bundesliga campaigns when they meet each other at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Saturday.
Hoffenheim were involved in a relegation battle for the majority of last season before finishing 12th, while Freiburg narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Hoffenheim, of course, qualified for the Champions League twice in a row between 2016 and 2018, but they have significantly regressed in the ensuing five years.
Die Kraichgauer‘s financial strength has helped them avoid being involved in relegation difficulties for the most part since they were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in 2008, but they were certainly in danger last time out having been bottom of the table as late as March.
However, after losing his opening five league games in charge following his appointment as manager in early February, Pellegrino Matarazzo eventually managed to turn the tide in Baden-Wurttemberg, with his side impressively winning five of their final 10 games of the season to ultimately finish three points clear of the relegation zone.
Despite losing one of their most talented players in the shape of Christoph Baumgartner to RB Leipzig during the summer transfer window, Matarazzo and his players will be confident of performing much better this time around, with Andrej Kramaric proving that there is plenty of life him in yet by bagging a brace to help his side come from behind to dispatch VfB Lubeck 4-1 in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal on Monday.
While winning the club’s first major silverware will undoubtedly be a main aim for Matarazzo, it is their record in the Bundesliga where he will be judged first and foremost, so he will be desperate to see his side get off to a good start against Freiburg this weekend.
Given Freiburg’s improvement in recent seasons, though, that may prove to be a difficult task for their forthcoming opponents, with Christian Streich’s side cementing themselves as one of the most stable teams in the Bundesliga.
For the second successive campaign, Breisgau-Brasilianer finished three points off the pace as far as the Champions League qualification positions are concerned, but their fifth-placed finish was their best top-flight placing in precisely a decade.
Streich has been in charge during that entire period, of course, having been promoted from his role as assistant to manager in December 2011. The fact that he will lead them into the Europa League for the third time represents a serious mark of progress, but he will have every intention of upgrading that to Europe’s elite competition come this time next year.
However, in order to do so, Florian Muller may need to hit the ground running after joining from Stuttgart as Mark Flekken’s replacement. The talented stopper has followed Kevin Schade to Premier League side Brentford, but Junior Adamu has been recruited to bolster Streich’s attack.
Freiburg were solid enough when dispatching Oberachern 2-0 away from home in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal on Monday, and they would certainly settle for another clean sheet on the road when their Bundesliga campaign begins on Saturday.
Wout Weghorst made his competitive debut for Hoffenheim during their win against Lubeck, and the former Wolfsburg striker will hope to mark his Bundesliga return with a goal after joining on loan from Burnley for the season. However, Ihlas Bebou could be preferred from the start.
Marius Bulter provided another welcome fresh face by scoring on his debut after signing from Schalke 04, and he should retain his place, but Attila Szalai may need to be patient after only appearing from the bench in the cup.
Dennis Geiger, Fisnik Asllani and Umut Tohumcu are all expected to miss out through injury for the hosts.
Freiburg, meanwhile, will have to make do without their combative midfielder Nicolas Hofler due to suspension after his red card against Wolfsburg towards the end of last season.
Daniel-Kofi Kyereh remains sidelined for the next couple of months at least due to an ACL injury, while Adamu is unlikely to make his debut until September due to his own knee issue.
Club captain Christian Gunter will expect to start after scoring from the bench against Oberachern, while Muller appears to have a fight on his hands to claim the starting berth in goal after 21-year-old Noah Atubolu was preferred for the DFB-Pokal win.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kabak, Brooks, Vogt; Kaderabek, Grillitsch, Promel, Stiller, Bulter; Bebou, Kramaric
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart; Kubler, Keitel, Eggestein, Gunter; Grifo, Sallai; Gregoritsch
We say: Hoffenheim 2-1 Freiburg
Hoffenheim have recruited smartly during the transfer window and they should head into this campaign with real momentum after escaping relegation with some excellent form under Matarazzo’s guidance.
Freiburg have had a quieter summer, but they may find Flekken’s gloves in goal difficult to fill. Having punched above their weight for two seasons running yet ultimately fallen short of their Champions League dream, we would not be surprised to see them start the season a little slowly here.
