Koln vs Hoffenheim

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On Saturday (September 16), Koln will play Hoffenheim at the RheinEnergieStadion in the Bundesliga.

The hosts have had a rough start to their league campaign, finding themselves just above the relegation zone. Last time out, Koln drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt, conceding a late equalizer. With one point from three games, Koln is 14th in the league rankings.

Meanwhile, Hoffenheim lost 2-1 to Freiburg in their league opener before coming back to beat Wolfsburg 3-1 in their previous game. Former Wolfsburg defender John Brooks was one of three players to score.

The visitors are sixth in the rankings, having earned six points out of a possible nine.

The 30th encounter between the two clubs will take place on Saturday, with Koln behind 13-9.Hoffenheim defeated 3-1 to Koln in their most recent meeting, snapping an 11-game unbeaten record in the match.Koln has failed to keep a clean sheet in 11 games since 2015.Koln (2) has the joint-lowest scoring average in the Bundesliga this season.Since April, Der Blau has gone 13 games without a clean sheet in all competitions.

Koln won a friendly against Bergisch Gladbach 6-0 last week, but have only won one of their last eight home league games.

On Saturday, Koln will host Hoffenheim at the RheinEnergieStadion in a match between two teams that have had contrasting starts to the current Bundesliga season.

While the hosts have yet to win in their first three league games, Die Kraichgauer will be seeking to make it three league wins in a row this weekend.

During the international break, FC Koln picked up a morale-boosting 6-0 win over German amateur side Bergisch Gladbach in a friendly on September 6.

Steffen Tigges, Faride Alidou, Damion Downs, Joao Pinto, Meiko Waschenbach, and Julian Pauli all scored in a one-sided match at the BELKAW-Arena to top off an outstanding team performance.

Manager Steffen Baumgart will be hoping that the result will serve as a springboard for a strong run of form when Koln returns to Bundesliga play, where they have failed to win any of their first three games.

Die GeiBbocke began the German top-flight season with back-to-back losses to Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg before drawing 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt on September 3.

While Koln will be eager to take up where they left off last time out, they have struggled for results at home, where they have only won one of their past eight league games since late February.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim continued their impressive run of wins over the international break, coming from behind to defeat Swiss club FC Luzern 3-1 on September 7.

After Kamal Ademi put the visitors ahead in the 29th minute, Die Kraichgauer increased the ante with goals from Kevin Vogt, Mergim Berisha, and Fin Ole Becker to turn the game around.

This was consistent with their strong achievements in the Bundesliga, as they began the season with a 2-1 loss to Freiburg on August 19 before winning consecutive games against Heidenheim and Wolfsburg.

Koln will be without numerous key players along the spine, notably the midfield duo of Mathias Olesen (muscle) and Florian Dietz (knee), who are both out with injuries.

Mark Uth, a veteran striker, has yet to play for Die GeiBbocke this season after suffering a hip injury in August's pre-season match against Osnabruck, while Jan Thielmann is now recovering from a knee ailment.

German defender Eric Martel will be out for a long time after injuring his Achilles tendon while playing for the German Under-21s on Tuesday.

Hoffenheim, like the hosts, enters the weekend with a lengthy injury list, with Robert Skov (calf), Maximilian Beier (knee), and Marco John (ankle) all out.

Bambase Conte has missed the last five games due to injury, while Dennis Geiger has been sidelined since suffering a muscular injury against Elversberg on July 12.