FRIDAY night football in the Bundesliga comes from the Rhein-Neckar-Arena as managerless Hoffenheim lock horns with RB Leipzig.
Both teams failed to pick up three points last time out, with Hoffenheim drawing 2-2 away at Fortuna Dusseldorf, while Leipzig were held to a shock 1-1 draw at home to lowly Paderborn.
Hoffenheim, despite being firmly in the hunt for the final European berth, took the decision to part company with manager Alfred Schreuder (below) earlier this week.
That decision came as a surprise given that a home win here would send the Blues into the top-six – at least temporarily – and standing in Die Kraichgaurer's way of three points this weekend is a Leipzig side who have gone from challenging for the title, to chasing Champions League qualification.
With the top-four race in the Bundesliga beginning to hot up, Juilian Nagelsmaan can ill-afford a slip-up when he leads his young Leipzig side back to his former stomping ground on Friday night.
However, the Red Bulls will take confidence from their razor-sharp showings on the road since the resumption following impressive 5-0 and 4-2 wins away at Mainz and Cologne respectively.
Outright Betting
Hoffenheim, despite avoiding defeat in their last four Bundesliga outings, are as high as 11/2 with William Hill to win this match, while a draw is also deemed unlikely at 4/1 with the same firm.
RB Leipzig are unbeaten in their last 11 league matches and the Red Bulls are heavily fancied here at 1/2 with Betway.
Betting Angles
RB Leipzig's last two away games have proved to be very profitable for me when backing 3+ match goals, 3+ match cards & 6+ match corners, and I like the look of a repeat on Friday night at Even-Money with PaddyPower.
Hoffenheim's last eight games have been goal-heavy affairs, with over 2.5 goals landing on all eight occasions, and it's also worth noting that the last three meetings between theses sides at this venue has featured three or more strikes.
What's more, six of the 10 league games that these two teams have contested collectively since the restart have seen at least three or more goals scored.
From a corner kick perspective, Hoffenheim games have featured an average of 11.5 corners per game this season – the second-highest in the Bundesliga – and I'm also happy to throw in three or more cards in what could be another open and entertaining battle in the Blues backyard.
Furthermore, both of these respective sides have received two red cards each across their last three league matches and given that both teams still have plenty to play for, three or more cards in this fixture looks feasible.
That line of thought has also lured me towards another combination, namely, both teams to score, both teams to take two or more corners and both teams to collect at least one card, all of which can be backed at 88/100 when utilising William Hill's Build#YourOdds feature.
Only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have banged in more goals than Leipzig this season and that does not bode well for a Hoffenheim side who have shipped 35 goals on home turf this term – the second worst goals-against tally in the Bundesliga in terms of home form.
However, it's also worth pointing out that the Red Bulls have only registered one shutout since the resumption and the visitors will be without star centre-half Dayot Upamecano who will miss out through suspension and that adds to the appeal of backing Hoffenheim to hit the back of the net in what could be a riveting spectacle at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Friday night.
This German Bundesliga match between Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig will be played on Jun 12, 2020 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Hoffenheim vs RB Leipzig prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
