TSG Hoffenheim-Hannover 96
Rhein-Neckar Arena
Saturday, 6th February 2010 – kickoff 15:30

TSG Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim are in fairly good position sitting at the 9th place in the Bundesliga with 25 points, but they can not relax much as there is a very small difference in points from the teams in mid-table and teams from the bottom.

Last weekend Hoffenheim suffered their fourth straight loss against Schalke 04 away, but many important players were out of the team in the recent weeks.

Good news for the team is the return of the experienced defensive captain Josip Simunic who has served his one match suspension due to yellow cards.

Chinedu Obasi and Isaac Vorsah returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, but probably only the striker Obasi will get a chance to start this match and Vorsah will be benched.

The German international Tobias Weis still rehabilitates after his knee surgery and the Senegal striker Demba Ba will be out of the squad due to a leg muscle problems.

Probable TSG Hoffenheim line-up :
Hildebrandt,
Beck, Simunic, Compper, Ibertsberger
Carlos Eduardo, Luiz Gustavo, Salihovic,
Obasi, Ibisevic, Maicosuel

Hannover 96

Hannover have new coach but the things did not improved. Last week the suffered high defeat 1-3 at home by the lower side Nurnberg who are also their main rivals in the relegation zone. That was second straight loss for the new coach in charge-Mirko Slomka.

Just before the transfer window closes the team got a very good signing in the Ivorian International striker Arouna Kone from FC Sevilla who is loaned until the end of the season with possibility of contract extension. Also the team brought the Brazilian Elson Falcao da Silva from Vfb Stuttgart and he will be paired with Kone in the attack for this match.

However, two very important players will be missing; the playmaker Hanno Balitsch underwent surgery (knee problem) and he will be out of the team for couple of weeks and Steven Cherundolo who has a shoulder injury which will prevent him from playing the whole month. Ya Konan is also still unavailable for a longer period.

The defender Jan Schlaudraff will not be in the starting line up as he is still not fully match fit.

Probable Hannover 96 line-up :
Fromlowitz,
Pinto, Eggimann, Haggui, Rausch,
Schulz, Andreasen, Rosenthal, Stajner,
Elson, Koné

The Betting Verdict

Both teams are on a downfall in the recent weeks and have long negative streaks. Hoffenheim have been winless in seven and Hannover in eight straight matches.

Hoffenheim have won two of their total three games against Hannover and one match was drawn.

In the first match this season between these sides Hoffenheim won 1-0.
Hoffenheim has a terrible goal difference in the second part of the season (0-7!) which makes them the only Bundesliga team that has yet to score a goal in 2010.

This is a very important match for both teams but i consider Hoffenheim slightly closer to getting a victory here. They have a good record against the teams from the bottom plus some important players are back in the squad.

On the other hand Hannover has one very good striker but the rest of the team does not function that well. Hoffenheim plays at home, almost full squad at disposal and i think they will get a win here which will finally lift them up a bit on the table.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

TSG Hoffenheim 2-1 Hannover 96

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Home win for TSG Hoffenheim