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The Bundesliga returns this weekend, with FC Koln welcoming Hoffenheim to the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides will be eager to make a statement from the outset after ending last season with heavy defeats, although their respective summers have brought very different challenges and expectations.
With new signings on both sides and competitive victories already under their belts in the DFB-Pokal, this opening fixture should provide an early indication of what the new campaign could have in store.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Koln vs. Hoffenheim key stats
- Hoffenheim have won five of their last seven visits to Koln.
- Koln dropped 22 points last season from winning positions.
- Both teams scored in Koln's last 11 competitive matches.
Koln vs. Hoffenheim preview: Tasty Bundesliga opener on the cards
Koln vs Hoffenheim — Tale of the Tape
| Koln | vs | Hoffenheim |
|---|---|---|
| 14th | Position (Bundesliga 25/26) | 5th |
| 32 | Points | 61 |
| 49 | Goals For | 65 |
| 63 | Goals Against | 52 |
| 3 | Clean Sheets | 7 |
| 13th/16th | Home / Away Rank | 5th/3rd |
For Koln, simply remaining in the Bundesliga was the priority at the end of last season, with the Billy Goats eventually doing enough to survive despite collecting just one victory from their final 14 league outings.
Their campaign had threatened to take a much more positive direction early on, but a dramatic loss of form left them battling for survival before a 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on the final day brought a miserable run to an end.
Lukas Kwasniok was replaced by Rene Wagner in March, and the former has now had a full summer to put his own stamp on the squad and prepare Koln for another Bundesliga season.
That process has involved considerable investment, with Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Luka Lochoshvili, Tom Krauss, Reigan Heskey and Paul Okon-Engstler among those arriving, while Polish winger Jakub Kaminski departed for Benfica in a £15m deal.
Wagner's preparations have already yielded one competitive victory, as Koln overturned an early deficit to defeat Wurzburger Kickers 2-1 in the DFB-Pokal.
Hoffenheim, meanwhile, will feel they have unfinished business after ending last season just one point outside the Champions League places.
A place in Europe's premier competition was theirs for the taking on the final weekend, but a 4-0 hammering at Borussia Monchengladbach saw them finish fifth instead, turning what had been an impressive campaign into a hugely frustrating conclusion.
Christian Ilzer has nevertheless been given the opportunity to build on that progress, with Hoffenheim backing their Austrian coach in the transfer market and committing more than £60m to strengthening his squad.
That expenditure has been partly offset by the club-record £42m sale of Bazoumana Toure to Newcastle United, surpassing the previous record established by Joelinton's move to the same club in 2019.
Hoffenheim could hardly have asked for a better competitive audition for their new recruits, meanwhile, as they swept aside Erzgebirge Aue 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal.
Koln vs. Hoffenheim form guide & betting tips
| Koln | vs | Hoffenheim |
|---|---|---|
W |
Form | W |
| 2 | Goals For | 4 |
| 1 | Goals Against | 0 |
W |
Form (All Comps) | W |
Whispers predicts: Koln 1-3 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim have a sensational record away at Koln, winning five of their last seven visits.
With the visitors priced at 5/4 to win, that has to be one of the best bets of the entire opening round in the Bundesliga.
A safer approach would be to back both teams to score at around the 1/2 mark, which is a bet that has landed in 11 of Koln’s previous competitive outings.
For serious value, the correct score market deserves serious consideration, with Hoffenheim priced at 14/1 to win the match 3-1.
> Hoffenheim to win at 5/4 | Likelihood: Probable
> Both teams to score at 1/2 | Likelihood: Probable
> Correct score 1-3 at 14/1 | Likelihood: Outsider