Preview: Hoffenheim vs. SV Darmstadt 98 - prediction, team news, lineups

While Hoffenheim have won just one of their last six Bundesliga matches, the visitors have failed to emerge victorious from any of their previous eight outings.

Match preview

Having finished ninth place or lower in each of their last three seasons, Hoffenheim will be content to be sitting in seventh position and one point adrift of the top six after 15 matches.

Despite putting themselves in the fight for European football, die Kraichgauer may be looking forward to the winter break following a dip in form in recent weeks, with their last six league matches producing one win, two draws and three defeats.

They looked to have turned a corner when they beat Bochum 3-1 in their most recent home game, but they were quickly brought down to earth in Saturday's trip to the Red Bull Arena, where Ozan Kabak's first-half equaliser proved inconsequential as RB Leipzig scored twice in the second period to condemn Hoffenheim to defeat.

After seeing their winless away run stretch out to four competitive matches, Pellegrino Matarazzo's side will now return to the PreZero Arena for their first meeting with Darmstadt since recording a 1-0 win in February 2017.

While they have only won two of their seven home league games this season (D1, L4), they do have the chance to record consecutive home wins in the Bundesliga for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign.

After working hard to end their six-season stay in the second tier, Darmstadt are at risk of returning straight back to the 2.Bundesliga after collecting just nine points from their 15 top-flight matches.

Since claiming consecutive wins over Werder Bremen and Augsburg at the start of October, die Lillien have been unable to add another win to their tally, drawing two and losing five of their previous seven fixtures.

They go into the final game of 2023 looking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat after losing 1-0 to Koln and Wolfsburg on either side of a 3-2 away loss to their fellow newly-promoted side Heidenheim.

Having failed to trouble the scorers in three of their last five matches, Torsten Lieberknecht's charges need to find a cutting edge in the final third, but their quest for improvement must also take place at the opposite end of the pitch, where they have conceded 38 league goals to leave them with the worst defensive record in the division.

After losing all nine league games where they conceded first, the opening goal could be crucial to Darmstadt's chances of claiming a positive result in their final outing of 2023.

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

L

D

D

L

W

L

SV Darmstadt 98 Bundesliga form:

L

D

D

L

L

L

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Team News

Hoffenheim will have to make do without Dutch striker Wout Weghorst, who is set to miss a second straight game after sustaining a muscle injury in the club's most recent home game against Bochum.

The former Manchester United forward is joined in the treatment room by Bambase Conte, Mergim Berisha, Marco John and Dennis Geiger, while Julian Justvan and Diadie Samassekou are doubts due to illness.

Following a disappointing outing at the weekend, Matarazzo could decide to make a few changes to his side, with Kevin Akpoguma, Florian Grillitsch and Max Beier all in contention to start.

As for the visitors, Aaron Seydel and Oscar Vilhelmsson are expected to be absent after they missed the defeat to Wolfsburg due to calf and groin injuries respectively.

Fabian Nurnberger, Christoph Zimmermann, Fraser Hornby and Braydon Manu all remain sidelined with ankle problems, while Marvin Mehlem is ruled out due to a leg injury.

There are also doubts surrounding the availability of defender Fabian Holland, who was unable to make Saturday's matchday squad due to illness.

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Kabak, Vogt, Akpoguma; Kaderabek, Promel, Grillitsch, Stach; Butler; Bebou, Beier

SV Darmstadt 98 possible starting lineup:

Schuhen; Klarer, Gjasula, J. Muller; Bader, Franjic, Kempe, Karic; Pfeiffer; Honsak, Skarke

We say: Hoffenheim 2-1 SV Darmstadt 98

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