Hoffenheim vs Dortmund: Bundesliga Round 2 preview, team news
1899 Hoffenheim welcome Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon in the Bundesliga's second round, with both sides looking for a response to contrasting opening-day results. Dortmund began with a 2-0 home win over Hamburg, while Hoffenheim fell 2-0 at Köln.
Team News and Injury Latest
Hoffenheim are without forward Tim Lemperle, who serves a suspension carried over from last season's red card. There are no new fitness concerns for the hosts after their trip to Köln; Wouter Burger and Patrick Wimmer – both on target in the DFB-Pokal rout of Erzgebirge Aue – are expected to keep their places in the XI.
Borussia Dortmund's major blow is the confirmed ACL tear suffered by new signing Giannis Konstantelias. The Greek attacker, who scored on his debut before being forced off, will be sidelined for several months. Additionally, defender Samuele Inácio is suspended after receiving a straight red card just three minutes into his substitute appearance against Hamburg. Serhou Guirassy, who opened the scoring at the weekend, leads the line with Maximilian Beier likely to retain his role on the flank.
Hoffenheim Form Guide
Hoffenheim opened the campaign with a 2-0 defeat at 1. FC Köln, where a Thijs Dallinga double handed them an early setback. The side had previously looked sharp in the cup, beating Erzgebirge Aue 4-0, but failed to carry that fluency into the league fixture. Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo will expect a reaction on home soil.
Dortmund Form Guide
Dortmund banked three points in their curtain-raiser, seeing off Hamburg 2-0 at Signal Iduna Park. Guirassy's early strike and an own goal forced by Konstantelias' deflected shot proved enough, although the loss of the latter and Inácio's dismissal took the gloss off the victory. Niko Kovac's men are now looking to avoid the ill-discipline that left them a man light in both of their first two competitive outings.