Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Sarwar ·
Updated
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The Erik ten Hag era at Bayer Leverkusen gets underway with a home match against Hoffenheim.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – Not streamed / US – ESPN+
Bayer Leverkusen preview: Time to rebuild
It came as no surprise to the football world when head coach Xabi Alonso departed Bayer Leverkusen for Real Madrid, the club he had previously played for. The Spaniard oversaw the greatest period in Leverkusen’s history which saw them record a memorable domestic league and cup double back in 2023-24. Whilst he could not replicate that in 2024-25, Leverkusen still managed a second-placed finish and Champions League football once again.
Erik ten Hag, formerly of Ajax and most recently Man Utd was appointed as Xabi Alonso’s replacement and has been forced to oversees a high squad turnover with multiple key players departing. Star attacker Florian Wirtz has joined Liverpool alongside Jeremie Frimpong, whilst captain Granit Xhaka left for Sunderland.
Hoffenheim preview: Vast improvement required
Hoffenheim endured a hugely disappointing 2024-25 season and in the end, were fortunate to avoid the dreaded bottom three, finishing in 15th place with just 32 points to their name after winning just seven of their 34 Bundesliga games, losing 16. Only relegated Holstein Kiel conceded more goals, emphasising where the improvement needs to come from.
Christian Ilzer joined the club last season and will try and engineer the revival of Hoffenheim. If he can tighten up the defence then you’d expect them to be better in 2025-26 as Ilzer is a good attacking coach and should get goals out of this Hoffenheim squad.
Bayer Leverkusen team news: Lengthy injury list
We won't see Malik Tillman make his Bundesliga debut here as he's out injured. Palacios is missing in central midfielder, whilst Jonas Hofmann also won't feature.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Flekken; Tabsoba, Quansah, Hincapie; Tella, Andrich, Garcia, Grimaldo; Poku, Schick, Maza
Unavailable: Belocian (Injured), Hofmann (Injured), Palacios (Injured), Terrier (Injured), Tillman (Injured)
Questionable:
Hoffenheim team news: Absentees at both ends
Centre-back Ozan Kabak is out injured for Hoffenheim, as is forward player Adam Hlozek, who misses out on a reunion with his former club.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Baumann; Hranac, Machida, Bernardo; Coufal, Avdullahu, Burger, Toure; Kramaric, Lemperle, Asllani
Unavailable: Gendrey (Injured), Hlozek (injured), Kabak (Injured)
Questionable:
Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim prediction
Bayer Leverkusen enter this contest as favourites and rightly so. Hoffenheim at home serves as a good landing spot for Erik ten Hag and with the offensive resources at his disposal, the hosts should create plenty of chances here even without the likes of Wirtz and Frimpong. It would be disappointing from their point of view if Leverkusen did not score at least a couple of goals.
Hoffenheim though, are likely to be stronger this campaign compared to last and from an attacking point of view, they are well-placed to trouble Leverkusen and get on the scoresheet. However, over the course of 90 minutes it’s Leverkusen who should come out on top, so back them as well as both teams to score.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim tip: Bayer Leverkusen to win and both teams to score
