Struggling mentally – but targeting top spot

Matches against Borussia Dortmund carry a special importance for TSG. Although the Westphalian outfit have the clearly superior head-to-head record in the Bundesliga – BVB have 13 wins compared to Hoffenheim's seven – and are also unbeaten in six games against the Kraichgau club (5 wins, 1 draw), TSG fans always have fond memories of meetings with the Black & Yellows. In 2013, Hoffenheim survived relegation thanks to a legendary 2-1 away victory on the final day. Five years later, a 3-1 home triumph sealed Champions League qualification for the first time in the club's history. In 2020, Andrej Kramarić scored all four goals in the legendary 4-0 victory in Dortmund on Matchday 34 that booked TSG a spot in the Europa League.

Historic Hoffenheim matches, but many other clashes between the two clubs have been high-scoring and spectacular too – as demonstrated by the combined scoreline from the previous 30 matches of 46-43 in Dortmund's favour. Almost three goals per game – and the TSG fans can look forward to another attacking encounter on Friday (20:30 CET / Live Ticker at tsg-hoffenheim.de). However, Hoffenheim (12-6 goal difference) have been much more attack-minded in the early stages of the season than sixth-placed BVB (9-5), who have 11 points and sit one position and one point behind TSG.

But Edin Terzic's team have produced their best performance of the season so far on the road. Between the disappointing away matches in Bochum (1-1) and against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League (2-0 loss), BVB won 4-2 away to SC Freiburg. Mats Hummels scored two goals in that game and compensated for the strikers, who have not yet really hit their stride this term. Niclas Füllkrug, Sebastian Haller, Youssoufa Moukoko and Karim Adeyemi are all still without a single goal to their name. The internal goalscoring charts are topped by Donyell Malen (3), Marco Reus and Hummels (2 each).

The misery at missing out on the title has not yet gone away. The fatal 2-2 draw against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on the final matchday of last season has visibly left its mark. The team is lagging far behind its expectations in footballing terms, while coach Terzic has already been subjected to public criticism. And BVB are also struggling mentally, as Haller tellingly revealed in an interview with Sport-BILD this week: "This is really how it is: missing out on the title causes me more pain than the cancer diagnosis did back then. When you're ill, then you can't do anything about it. You have to accept it and go through it. But we had the title in our own hands, we could influence everything ourselves."

Despite the unpleasant memories of the season finale and the bumpy start to the new campaign, the upcoming floodlit fixture provides BVB with a great opportunity: the club will occupy top spot in the standings for one night at least if they win. But the same applies to TSG Hoffenheim.

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