FC Koln vs. 1899 Hoffenheim 9/19/20 Bundesliga Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

FC Koln is hosting Hoffenheim at RheinEnergieStadion in round 1 of the Bundesliga season.

Koln has barely escaped the relegation zone last season when they ended up in 14th place with 36 points, just 5 points above the relegation zone. Koln was solid offensively with 51 scored goals last season, but their defense has been a disaster with 69 conceded goals. In the preseason, Koln has 4 wins and 1 loss, while in their latest match in the DFB Pokal, Koln has beaten a German lower division team. Koln has had 67% of ball possession in this match, 8 shots on goal, 6 corner kicks, 5 big chances created, and a solid 87% of the correct passes. Koln has won this match 0-6. Kainz and Schmitz are both injured, and they will miss the beginning of this season. Duda and Andersson are the two biggest signings for Koln in the offseason, while Cordoba is the biggest departure from this team. Koln is in a good form, which will certainly be useful at the start of the season, but most of the teams they played against were the lower division teams. I expect Koln to be close to the bottom of the table once again, but they should be safe from the relegation zone.

Hoffenheim is a good team, and they were lucky enough to end the last season in 6th place, which has taken Hoffenheim to the Europa League. Hoffenheim has both scored and conceded 53 goals last season, and they have won 52 points. Hoffenheim has ended last season with 3 wins, and they continued at the same pace in the preseason. Hoffenheim has 4 wins and 1 loss in the preseason. In their DFB Pokal game against Chemnitzer last week, Hoffenheim was the dominant team with 69% of ball possession, 7 shots on goal, 6 corner kicks, 10 big chances created, and 86% of the correct passes. The regular time ended in a 1-1 draw, while in the 100th minute Chemnitzer got ahead. In the 111th minute, Hoffenheim has tied the result to 2-2, and the game has gone to the penalty shootout. Hoffenheim was better in the shootout, and they are advancing to the next stage of the DFB Pokal. Nordtveit, Hubner, Posch, and Kaderabek are all injured, and they will not be in the lineup for this match. Gacinovic is the biggest signing for Hoffenheim this season, while Bittencourt, Kobel, Zuber, and Esser all left the team. Hoffenheim is pretty much the same team as they were last season, but they are starting this season with a new coach, Sebastian Hoenes, the former Bayern Munich II coach. So far, he is doing a good job, but we will see how Hoffenheim will do against Stronger Bundesliga teams.

Koln has had some success against Hoffenheim in the past, but they haven’t won any of their last 4 games against Hoffenheim, while Hoffenheim hasn’t lost any of their last 8 away games. Hoffenheim is the better team in my opinion, but their defense is not yet set, and for that reason, I will pick something on goals here.