Preview: Wolfsburg vs. Hoffenheim - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts, meanwhile, would move above Bayer Leverkusen - who do not play until Sunday - into sixth place with a victory.

Match preview

Indeed, after registering a lowly-ranked 12th position last season, bringing European football back to the Volkswagen Arena would be regarded as an excellent achievement by Niko Kovac in his first campaign at the club.

The former Croatia international began life slowly in Lower Saxony, but several bursts of impressive form since those early games have seen the Wolves establish themselves as genuine Europa League contenders.

However, after registering successive victories against VfL Bochum and Mainz 05 in recent weeks, Wolfsburg were humbled by title contenders Borussia Dortmund in the form of a 6-0 thrashing at Westfalenstadion last weekend.

BVB displayed the significant gap in class between themselves and their opponents by scoring three times either side of half-time, with England midfielder Jude Bellingham bagging himself a brace after the break.

Kovac will be determined for his side to bounce back as quickly as possible, particularly with a European spot still on the cards. With ninth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt through to the final of the DFB-Pokal, it remains to be seen how many European places are up for grabs via a league position, but sixth would certainly prove enough regardless of how Oliver Glasner's side fare against RB Leipzig next month.

Hoffenheim, of course, have had far lower ambitions in recent months, but Pellegrino Matarazzo appears firmly on course to guide the club away from relegation danger having made a hugely positive impact since being appointed as manager in February.

Die Kraichgauer registered their fourth win in seven league matches by dispatching Frankfurt 3-1 at Rhein-Neckar-Arena last weekend, with goals from Christoph Baumgartner, Andrej Kramaric and Ihlas Bebou providing the hosts with a comfortable three-goal cushion at half-time.

Stanley Nsoki's dismissal three minutes after the break casted doubts over Hoffenheim's victory, though, especially when Mario Gotze pulled one back for the visitors six minutes later. However, Matarazzo's side stood firm despite their one-man disadvantage to move four points clear of the danger zone.

Should Bochum fail to beat Augsburg on Saturday, their hugely inferior goal difference compared to Hoffenheim would mean that victory against Wolfsburg on Saturday would guarantee they would avoid automatic relegation as a worst case scenario, while Stuttgart's result against Leverkusen less than 24 hours later would also have a huge baring on matters.

Ultimately, Matarazzo and his players do not need to concern themselves with matters elsewhere too much, such is the strong position they have put themselves in after looking perilously out of form at the bottom of the table as recently as March.

Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:

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Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

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Team News

Wolfsburg will remain without Maxence Lacroix, Paulo Otavio and Lukas Nmecha due to long-term injuries, with the trio unlikely to play again this season.

Having been thrashed in their last outing, Kovac may be tempted to make a few changes, with the likes of Yannick Gerhardt, Omar Marmoush and Kevin Paredes all pushing for starts this weekend.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, will be without Nsoki for two matches after his straight red card against Frankfurt last time out, with Ermin Bicakcic likely to replace him within the visitors' defence.

Kevin Vogt is not an option due to an ongoing knee injury, while Pavel Kaderabek and Justin Che have also been ruled out of taking part. Matarazzo is unlikely to make any other alterations to his starting XI after edging Frankfurt in extremely impressive fashion up until Nsoki's dismissal.

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:

Casteels; Baku, Bornauw, Van De Ven, Cozza; Arnold, Svanberg; Kaminski, Wimmer; Wind, Marmoush

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Kabak, Bicakcic, Brooks; Bebou, Kramaric, Geiger, Promel, Angelino; Baumgartner, Dabbur

We say: Wolfsburg 1-2 Hoffenheim

Matarazzo is naming an extremely attacking starting XI at present, and we can envisage them out-gunning Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday.

Despite having European football to still contend for, the visitors' desperation for a victory is far greater given that they are not quite safe from the lingering fear of relegation, which is arguably the biggest motivation any footballer can have at the elite level of football.

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