Bundesliga: Hoffenheim are No Pushover for Bayern

Bayern Munich vs TSG Hoffenheim

It’s all looking a little ominous at the top of the Bundesliga after FC Bayern stretched their lead to seven points following a run of six wins from seven league games.

Next to challenge the champions are TSG Hoffenheim, who arrive at the Allianz Arena with renewed confidence and the knowledge that their hosts can be beaten.

They proved just that in the second match of this season as they ended a 23-match winning run for the Bavarians.

Is this going to be another marker in Die Bayern’s seemingly relentless march to a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title? I’m not so sure.

Talking Points

Bayern Munich are ruthless

As their rivals have faltered, Hansi Flick’s Bayern have been clicking through the gears since the turn of the year by beating all comers with the exception of a defeat in a five-goal thriller against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Die Bayern’s trip to Schalke last weekend turned out to be a Sunday afternoon stroll as they thrashed the bottom club 4-0, with Thomas Muller scoring a double while Robert Lewandowski bagged his 23^rd goal of the campaign.

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When Bayern hosted second-bottom club Mainz in the New Year opener, they handed out similar punishment by winning 5-2 as Lewandowski helped himself to another two.

And there will be no shortage of supply for Bayern’s strikers on Saturday as Joshua Kimmich and Kingsley Coman have seven assists each and Leroy Sane has five.

But the Bavarians have been more circumspect against teams higher in the table, winning by the odd goal in four other recent victories.

There’s a steely determination in Flick’s players and that’s bad news for the chasing pack.

Bayern’s biggest rivals all lost during the weekend as Red Bull Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are all faltering. So once again, this season’s championship is Bayern’s to lose.

Kramaric has the taste for goals

After a stop-start first half of the campaign, 1899 Hoffenheim arrive in Munich on the back of two 3-0 victories which have moved them up to 11^th place in the Bundesliga table – away from danger and now in sight of the Europa League places.

Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric scored twice in Hoffenheim’s win over Cologne on Sunday, following his brace the previous week against Hertha Berlin.

Bundesliga: Andrej Kramaric has scored 4 goals in the last two games — Andrej Kramaric in action for TSG Hoffenheim against Schalke 04

Four in two games has taken him up to 12 league goals for the season and he’s a man with an appetite for more.

He has had the fourth most shots of any player in the league at 51, and he sits fourth in the league-leading scorers alongside Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst. But the 29-year-old hitman has a way to go to catch Lewandowski though!

Spurs’ 20-year-old midfielder Ryan Sessegnon joined TSG on loan at the start of the season and he’s a lively customer, scoring two goals and making two assists in 11 appearances.

It seems Hoffenheim had a rude awakening when they lost 4-0 to bottom club Schalke at the beginning of January and they have taken seven points from three games since.

Head coach Sebastian Hoeness signed a three-year contract on his appointment in June 2020 and this upturn in form will help him to sit easier in the hot seat.

Hoeness has a fine pedigree as he was Bayern’s youth coach last season and he would love to impress his former employers again.

A sixth-place finish last season earned Hoffenheim Europa League football and they stormed the group stage, winning five and drawing one to top Group L with 16 points.

They’ll hope to progress deep into the competition, but fixture congestion didn’t help Die Kraichgauer much at the beginning of the season and Hoeness faces a battle to keep his squad fit.

History

The head-to-head Bundesliga 2021 results tell an expected tale.

The two teams have met 27 times over the past 12 years, with Bayern having won 18 and drawn five while TSG managed just four wins.

But the latest meeting was anything but routine. Hoeness and his team stunned his old friends by hammering Bayern, 4-1, as Kramaric scored twice to put an end to the champions’ 23-match winning run.

Can they do it again? Well, it’s a huge task and the Bundesliga 2021 betting odds don’t give the visitors much hope.

Bayern are on the winning trail again with a home record of six victories and two draws and they are unbeaten at the Allianz Arena in 26 matches.

Betting Tip

	Bayern Munich vs TSG Hoffenheim	TSG Hoffenheim Asian Handicap +2.00 @ 2.01
	January 30, 22:30 (GMT+8)

It makes perfect sense that the SBOTOP odds have Bayern at 1.21, Hoffenheim at 10.50, and the draw at 6.20, and I think that the champions will win.

But I’d put Hoffenheim in the category of teams which could push Die Bayern. And with the confidence of two comfortable victories behind them, I expect the visitors to put up a fight.