Our next opponents: Hat-trick hero Kramaric thrills the TSG fans

Position

Last season's seventh-placed finish put TSG Hoffenheim in European competition for the fourth time in the club's history. A great success that puts the club in the UEFA Europa League in their anniversary year to face attractive opponents like Porto, Leon and Tottenham Hotspur. TSG were 125 years old on 1 July and that milestone will be celebrated at the home game against Werder Bremen on 29 September. So there is good reason to be full of anticipation for a special season. At the same time, changes on the board and in the management structure have caused a certain amount of disquiet at the club, who have made a mixed start to the new campaign.

After TSG Hoffenheim narrowly beat Regional League Würzburger Kickers in the first round of the DFB Pokal (5-4 on penalties), they did make a successful start in the Bundesliga against newly promoted Holstein Kiel. The Blue and Whites were particularly impressive in the first half. The man of the match was Andrej Kramaric who scored twice in the first 45 to give his team a 2-0 lead at half-time. After the visitors pulled a goal back, the Croatia international restored the two-goal lead with his third strike. Kiel did score late on but TSG earned a deserved 3-2 win. "It wasn't easy but we bagged the three points," said match winner Kramaric after the first Bundesliga fixture of the new season. The 30-year-old scored again a week later. However, Hoffenheim lost 3-1 on matchday two away to Eintracht Frankfurt. "We didn't play well today," admitted striker Marius Bülter. And central defender Anton Stach declared: "We didn't get into the game as we wanted to. Frankfurt have brilliant individual players in their attack. We too often let them get into one-on-ones."

TSG used the international break to play a friendly against top-flight Swiss club FC Zürich. Hoffenheim dominated the game in a 3-1 win with goals scored by Pavel Kaderabek, Marius Bülter and Jacob Bruun Larsen.

Personnel

TSG will be hit hard by the long absence of midfielder Grischa Prömel. The 29-year-old vice-captain suffered a torn cruciate in training last week and he will probably only be available again in the Rückrunde. "It's an extremely bitter blow for us and for Grischa himself," said Frank Kramer, interim sporting director at TSG. "He plays a leading role in our team on and off the pitch and, particularly with the ongoing process of our team growing together at the start of the season with games at home and in Europe, this loss will really hurt."

Central defender Ozan Kabak will be unavailable for even longer following his torn cruciate in the build-up to Euro 2024. In the first two league games, Anton Stach, normally a midfielder, played centrally in a back three flanked by Kevin Akpoguma and the talented Tim Drexler.

New signing Arthur Chaves, who TSG signed just before the end of the summer transfer window from Portuguese second tier club Académico de Viseu FC, played as a central defender for the first time in the friendly against FC Zürich. Frank Kramer believes the 23-year-old Brazilian has "is a good prospect for meeting the levels at Hoffenheim." Two new faces have been brought in to provide immediate help: Midfielder Alexander Prass has come from Sturm Graz and he has been in the starting line-up in all the three games so far. The familiar face in Leverkusen of Adam Hlozek has helped inspire the Hoffenheim attack since his move from Bayer 04. Haris Tabakovic, signed from second division Hertha Berlin, demonstrated his qualities as a striker last season. The 1.96 metre tall forward was equal top scorer in Bundesliga two with 22 goals alongside Robert Glatzel (Hamburg SV) and Christos Tzolis (Fortuna Düsseldorf). However, powerful new forwards are still required. TSG lost two prolific strikers in Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund) and Wout Weghorst (Ajax). Beier was top scorer for Hoffenheim last season with 16 goals, one ahead of Kramaric (15) and Weghorst netted seven times. In addition to Chaves, Hlozek and Tabakovic, the defenders Robin Hranac (Viktoria Pilsen) and Valentin Gendrey (US Lecce) are also new signings at TSG.

For stalwart Oliver Baumann, the match against the Werkself is special: The keeper is set to make his 464th appearance in the Bundesliga that would put him level with Toni Schumacher and Lothar Matthäus. Baumann has played in 91 league games in succession and that is the longest current run in the Bundesliga. The last time he did not play was in November 2021.

Problems

In spite of Oliver Baumann, who is definitely one of the best German goalkeepers, the defence continues to cause concerns for coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. TSG let in 66 goals last season making them the team with the fourth worst defence. And they have already conceded five goals in two games this term. Hoffenheim have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last 21 Bundesliga home games, a negative club record.

It remains to be seen how the club will deal with the long-term absence of key players Kabak and Prömel and how quickly the new signings will get up to speed. "At the end of the day, time will tell how good the transfer activity has been in this period," said Matarazzo, who will also have to manage without David Jurasek (broken arm), Finn Ole Becker (knee) and Ihlas Bebou (knee) against Bayer 04 on Saturday. The recently injured Tom Bischof and Umut Tohumcu are available again.

Performers

The Hoffenheim attack has been a sort of one-man band in terms of goals scored. The four TSG goals so far have been scored by Andrej Kramaric. The Croat is on top form and he has started this season as impressively as he ended the last one: with a hat-trick. He achieved the same feat on the final matchday last term in a 4-2 win against Bayern Munich. Now he has kicked off with three goals against newly promoted Holstein Kiel and one against Eintracht Frankfurt. Marius Bülter is also in good form up front. TSG Hoffenheim continue to have an impressive attack and lots of individual class. Mergim Berisha, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Adam Hlozek, Haris Tabakovic, the young talent Max Moerstedt plus the injured Ihlas Bebou also form part of a strong attack alongside Bülter and Kramaric. The latter is in a battling mood ahead of the meeting with the champions of Germany and DFB Pokal winners: "We have to believe in ourselves and then anything is possible," said the 33-year-old who, in eight and a half years and 256 league games, has scored 119 goals and provided 53 assists for TSG Hoffenheim.