SC Paderborn vs Hoffenheim - prediction, team news, lineups

SC Paderborn 07 big TSG 1899 Hoffenheim successful the Bundesliga astatine the Home Deluxe Arena connected Sunday.

Ralf Kettemann's recently promoted broadside person taken 1 constituent from their opening 3 matches and are yet to people a Bundesliga extremity this season, portion Christian Ilzer's Hoffenheim get connected the backmost of a daze 2-0 Europa League decision distant to OFI Crete.

Sunday's gathering is the archetypal betwixt the 2 clubs successful the apical formation since a 1-1 gully astatine the aforesaid crushed successful May 2020, a lucifer played down closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Match preview

Paderborn's instrumentality to the Bundesliga aft a six-year lack has truthful acold brought plentifulness of committedness but nary product, with Kettemann's broadside registering 33 attempts crossed their opening 3 league games without uncovering the nett once.

The run began with a goalless gully distant astatine Mainz, a workmanlike constituent that was followed by a constrictive 1-0 location decision to Freiburg successful Paderborn's archetypal Bundesliga fixture astatine the Home Deluxe Arena successful implicit six years.

Their sternest introspection arrived astatine Signal Iduna Park past weekend, wherever Borussia Dortmund ran retired 3-0 winners courtesy of a Fabio Silva opener and a precocious Felix Nmecha brace.

That effect leaves Paderborn's hold for a top-flight triumph stretching backmost 18 matches to January 2020, and they stay 1 of lone 2 Bundesliga sides yet to unfastened their scoring relationship this season.

Kettemann, who led Paderborn to promotion successful his archetypal play arsenic a nonrecreational caput manager via a 2-1 aggregate play-off triumph implicit Wolfsburg successful May, is present trying to support the nine successful the Bundesliga for lone the 3rd clip successful its history.

Sunday represents a accidental to extremity a lengthy scoring drought against a Hoffenheim broadside that get astatine the Home Deluxe Arena connected abbreviated remainder pursuing Thursday's European exertions successful Crete.

Hoffenheim caput into Sunday's fixture inactive absorbing the disappointment of Thursday's 2-0 Europa League decision astatine OFI Crete, a effect that halted the momentum built by their archetypal league triumph of the season.

Ilzer's broadside opened the Bundesliga run with a 3-2 decision astatine Cologne, doubly taking the pb done Adam Daghim and Ozan Kabak earlier a precocious Thijs Dallinga brace turned the crippled successful the hosts' favour.

A much achy illness followed astatine location to Borussia Dortmund, Hoffenheim starring 2-0 done Leon Avdullahu and Tim Lemperle earlier conceding 3 times successful the past fractional hour, including an 86th-minute Albian Hajdari ain goal, to suffer 3-2.

Adam Hlozek yet turned Hoffenheim's play astir with a brace successful a 2-1 triumph implicit Stuttgart past Saturday astatine the SNP Arena, his archetypal Bundesliga goals since May 2025 and the 3rd treble of his vocation successful the competition.

That triumph arrived aft a hard commencement for a nine that finished 5th successful the Bundesliga successful 2025-26, the second-best points tally successful Hoffenheim's past and a instrumentality that secured Europa League qualification.

Captain Oliver Baumann admitted aft the nonaccomplishment successful Crete that the location broadside simply wanted it more, a remark that hints astatine the intelligence reset required earlier Sunday's travel north.

With conscionable 3 days separating the 2 fixtures, rotation is apt to diagnostic heavy successful Ilzer's selection, with Andrej Kramaric and Fisnik Asllani among the attacking options who could travel into the side.

SC Paderborn Bundesliga form:

SC Paderborn signifier (all competitions):

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

Hoffenheim signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Nyamekye Awortwie-Grant remains retired with a genu injury, portion Timur Gayret continues his betterment from a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained earlier his summertime determination from Verl and is not expected backmost until the caller year.

Lasse Eickel is backmost successful idiosyncratic grooming but has not yet rejoined afloat squad sessions, and Sven Michel and Marcel Hoffmeier some stay unavailable arsenic Paderborn hold for further squad extent to return.

The champion quality for Kettemann is that Laurin Curda has flooded the muscular occupation that forced him disconnected against Dortmund and returned to afloat grooming connected Thursday, meaning Paderborn spell into the crippled with nary caller fittingness concerns.

Hoffenheim's fittingness representation has improved since a scare earlier successful the week, with Alexander Prass returning to the squad for Thursday's travel to Crete aft being touched with a muscular problem.

Bambase Conte and Adam Daghim were some rested for the Europa League decision and are expected to instrumentality to Ilzer's starting eleven astatine the Home Deluxe Arena.

Hoffenheim different person a cleanable measure of wellness heading into Sunday's fixture, giving Ilzer a afloat complement of options arsenic helium manages a squad playing its 2nd lucifer successful 4 days.

Prass's nonstop fittingness remains thing of an unfastened question fixed the conflicting reports earlier successful the week, and his engagement should go clearer person to kick-off.

SC Paderborn imaginable starting lineup:

Noll; Hansen, Scheller, ter Horst; Obermair, Vidovic, Castaneda, Ulrich, Curda; Pieringer, Marino

Hoffenheim imaginable starting lineup:

Baumann; M. Rots, Kabak, Hajdari, Coufal; Daghim, Burger, Avdullahu, Conte; Lemperle, Hlozek

We say: SC Paderborn 0-1 Hoffenheim

Paderborn's inability to crook possession into goals continues to specify their instrumentality to the apical flight, and adjacent with a fit-again Curda restored to the side, Kettemann's men look abbreviated of the cutting borderline needed to extremity an 18-match winless tally successful the competition.

Hoffenheim's distant signifier and greater squad extent should yet tell, adjacent accounting for the abbreviated turnaround from Crete, with Hlozek's brace past play suggesting Ilzer has recovered a way done defences that Paderborn's backmost 3 whitethorn conflict to adjacent down.

A tight, low-scoring distant triumph feels the astir probable outcome, with Paderborn's toothless onslaught apt to again permission them empty-handed astatine afloat time.

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