TSG Hoffenheim vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach preview: European hopefuls lock horns in Englische Woche
TSG Hoffenheim face Borussia Mönchengladbach in their first home game of the new year. Christian Ilzer’s side remained in the top six despite their matchday 16 game being rescheduled due to weather, while Gladbach saw off Augsburg to start the Rückrunde in style.
Only second-placed Borussia Dortmund beat Hoffenheim in their last nine Bundesliga matches. They have scored three or more goals in six of these encounters as summer signings Tim Lemperle and Bazoumana Touré ended the first half of the season in top form.
Hoffenheim have only managed a single preliminary round appearance in the Champions League. After last season’s struggle, they’re now back in contention for European places as they’re only two points off fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen while having a game to spare.
They were supposed to start the year with a trip to Werder Bremen, but that game is now rescheduled for the last Tuesday of January. That created a tight schedule for the modest squad as they face five games in the space of 17 days.
Team News
Albian Hajdari will be suspended for accumulated yellow cards, which means Ozan Kabak gets a chance for only his second start of the season. Grischa Prömel and Bernardo are hoping to get the all-clear from flu symptoms, while Touré is a candidate to start following Côte d'Ivoire’s exit from the AFCON.
Eugen Polanski’s side produced a magnificent first-half performance at home against Augsburg to start the year. Haris Tabakovic eventually stole the headlines with a brace in a 4-1 win, but the overall team performance revived talks of European qualification.
Since their quarter-final defeat to Manchester City in the 2020-21 Champions League season, Gladbach have been out of continental competitions. If it wasn’t for their abysmal start to the season, Polanski’s team would have been in contention by now as only Bayern Munich collected more points than them since matchday 9.
Including a 4-4 draw at Borussia Park in the most recent fixture, 18 goals were scored in the last three games between the sides. Gladbach have a better record in head-to-head Bundesliga encounters with 12 wins to Hoffenheim's 10.
Team News
Polanski wouldn’t fancy too many changes after their excellent start to 2026, but it’d make sense to rotate with another game waiting for them on the weekend. Lukas Ullrich extended his contract last week, but Luca Netz’s performance is currently keeping him out of the side. Tottenham Hotspur loanee Kota Takai will hope for more minutes after making his Bundesliga debut on Sunday.
Hoffenheim: Baumann ©; Coufal, Hranac, Kabak, Bernardo; Avdullahu; Prömel, Burger; Kramaric; Lemperle, Asllani
Gladbach: Nicolas; Sander, Elvedi, Diks; Scally, Engelhardt, Ullrich; Reitz ©, Neuhaus; Honorat, Tabakovic
