sceneOnly two points separate BVB (third in the standings, 25 points) and TSG (fifth in the standings, 23 points). Things were different the last time these two teams met: seventh-placed Borussia Dortmund away to face a 15th-placed team – that was in April 2025, when Dortmund won a wild game 3-2. Eight months later, the Black and Yellow were four places up from then, while Hoffenheim were ten places higher. As Niko Kovac explains, TSG are not just “a very serious and difficult opponent” because of their position in the table: Hoffenheim have won all their away games this season and had the best away record before Round 13 (having played one more game than Bayern Munich) and are unbeaten in their last six games. Dortmund have won their last five Bundesliga games.
Personnel mattersKovac explained at a press conference ahead of the game against Hoffenheim that Niklas Süle, who has been battling a toe injury, participated in team training for the first time on Friday afternoon, but it was too early for the centre-back to feature on Sunday. “He can’t train once and then play at the weekend, that’s impossible. It takes longer,” said the Dortmund coach, who has a full squad in addition to Süle.
oppositionFor Kovac, TSG is the strongest of all the opponents Dortmund have faced at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK so far this season. “They are in very good shape, they are very strong runners and play with a lot of intensity. It will be a challenge for us,” the Dortmund coach explained on Friday morning. What Kovac means is that Hoffenheim have not lost a single away game this season and have taken 16 points from their last six Bundesliga games. A draw or win at Dortmund on Sunday would equal the club’s away record. That’s what Dortmund will want to prevent, because despite Hoffenheim’s quality, “we are playing at home and want to take all three points against our direct rivals,” Kovac said. “To do that we have to play well – but I believe we can.”
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Dortmund’s record at SinsheimThere are currently four players on the BVB roster who have played for TSG in the past. Maximilian Bale is under contract with Hoffenheim from 2018 until 2024, when he moves to Borussia Dortmund. It was at Sinsheim that he developed into an adult player: on match day 21 of the 2019/2020 season, at the age of 17 years, 3 months and 21 days, the striker became the youngest Bundesliga player in the history of TSG, replacing his current Dortmund teammate Niklas Süle (17 years, 8 months and 8 days old), who played at Sinsheim from 2010 to 2017. In addition to Süle and Bell, Gregor Kerber (2014 to 2019) and Pascal Gross (2007 to 2010) also played for Hoffenheim.
Nina Barger Neuhaus