Hoffenheim Preview

Fulham round off their pre-season with a game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. We take a look at our opposition as Fulham look to end their preparations on a high

Fulham and Hoffenheim have only met once previously when they faced off at Craven Cottage in August 2023 which was also our final pre-season game. The Cottagers won that game 2-1 with goals for our two new signings at the time Raul Jimenez and Calvin Bassey. The win was definitely a dress rehearsal for the Premier League season with only 5 substitutes made with 3 of these coming with less than 5 minutes to go in the game and the lineup closer to Fulham's strongest XI. We'd expect a similar approach to this game against Hoffenheim with under a week until our first game of the season against Man Utd. With Marco Silva always taking known for taking a careful approach to integrating new signings into the starting lineup, it'll be interesting to see who starts in this game as it'll give a good indication of how Marco will approach Man Utd.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

10th August - 3pm Kick Off

PreZero Arena

After losing one of their key players in Christoph Baumgartner at the start of last season, there was a worry that TSG would take a step backwards. Instead, Hoffenheim recorded their best league finish since 19/20 and qualified for Europe for just the fourth time in their history. Some smart business in bringing in players like Anton Stach, Florian Grillitsch, David Jurásek and Wout Weghorst on loan added some much needed international quality to the squad and with Andrej Kramarić entering his 10th season with the club, Hoffenheim will look to finish even higher this season.

In pre-season so far, TSG have managed wins against FC Astoria Walldorf (7-1), SV Elversberg (3-1), a draw with Norwich (2-2) and a loss to Ipswich Town (0-1) with goals being shared around the squad. With this also being their final game of pre-season, expect TSG to field a strong side before the DFB-Pokal tie against lowly Würzburger Kickers.

Competitions - 23/24

One to Watch

Andrej Kramarić

Andrej Kramarić has established himself as a prolific goal-scorer, holding the record as the top Croatian scorer in Bundesliga history and as TSG's all-time top goal scorer with 132 goals in all competitions. Although he's getting on a bit now, recently turning 33, his ability to find the space in behind and be a nuisance to any defence will give Fulham's defence a good challenge. Kramarić's consistent performance and knack for scoring crucial goals have cemented his status as a key player for both his club and country.

Shared Players