Bundesliga: BVB Face Bogey Team Amid Rocky Start under Rose

Borussia Dortmund vs TSG Hoffenheim

The honeymoon period is well and truly over for Borussia Dortmund and Marco Rose. After getting off to a flying start to the season against Eintracht Frankfurt, the new BVB boss has suffered back-to-back defeats in his last two matches.

Rose’s side will look to bounce back at home when they host Hoffenheim to begin the weekend’s round of Bundesliga fixtures.

However, Hoffenheim have had a lot of success against Dortmund in recent years, particularly at Signal Iduna Park, and will be keen to defy the Bundesliga 2021 betting odds once again.

Talking Points

Rose off to rocky start at Dortmund

It started so well for Marco Rose as his Dortmund side thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2 on his first Bundesliga match in charge of the club. However, he has since followed that up with a 3-1 defeat to bitter rivals Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup and a disappointing 2-1 defeat away to Freiburg last weekend.

Dortmund dominated 76 per cent of possession against Freiburg and had 18 shots – Erling Haaland had six by himself – but they missed that cutting edge in front of goal. Captain Marco Reus, who had scored against both Frankfurt and Bayern, was kept relatively quiet.

Borussia Dortmund are gunning to win their Bundesliga match against TSG Hoffenheim — BVB’s captain Marco Reus feels delighted after scoring the opening goal against Eintracht Frankfurt

In Rose’s defence, Dortmund are dealing with quite an extensive list of injuries to key starters at the moment, with the likes of Mats Hummels, Emre Can, Thorgan Hazard, and Raphael Guerreiro all dealing with knocks.

Although, Can, Hummels, and Guerreiro all came on as substitutes against Freiburg, which suggests they could be fit enough to start against Hoffenheim. Guerreiro came on to replace the struggling Nico Schulz after just 38 minutes and may get the nod at left-back.

Donyell Malen, who was brought in from PSV to help deal with the loss of star Jadon Sancho, had a disappointing first Bundesliga start as he failed to register a single shot. But with Hazard still dealing with an ankle injury, Rose may be forced to hand Malen another start against Hoffenheim.

Hoffenheim flying high

Hoffenheim have made a fine start to the new Bundesliga season. They are currently up in second place in the table after smashing Augsburg 4-0 in their opening game and drawing 2-2 against a tough Union Berlin side at home last weekend.

Jacob Bruun Larsen has been a big surprise in the early going. The Danish forward has two goals in his first two games after failing to score in his first 13 league appearances over two seasons at Hoffenheim.

Bruun Larsen came over to Hoffenheim from Dortmund in 2020 after making 29 Bundesliga appearances for BVB, with just two goals. He will surely be fired up to face his old side and potentially keep his scoring run going against them.

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Meanwhile, fellow forward Andrej Kramaric has also made an impressive start to the new campaign. The Croatian, who finished tied for fourth in the Bundesliga scoring charts last season with 20 goals, is goalless through the first two games. But he has contributed his fair share of Bundesliga 2021 highlights with four assists, three of which came in their 4-0 win at Augsburg.

Their new central midfield duo has also begun brightly. Sebastian Rudy, who was signed permanently after last year’s loan from Schalke, already has a goal to his name, while former Bayern Munich youngster Angelo Stiller supplied the assist for their equalising goal against Union Berlin.

History

Hoffenheim have been one of Borussia Dortmund’s biggest bogey teams in recent years. Over their last 26 league encounters, Dortmund only hold a slight 9-7 edge in terms of wins, while the two sides have drawn 10 times.

Dortmund and Hoffenheim drew their most recent meeting 2-2 at Signal Iduna Park. Jadon Sancho had given Dortmund the lead, but they needed a late Erling Haaland equaliser to earn a point after Hoffenheim came back to take the lead.

Over their last seven meetings, Hoffenheim have actually had more wins than Dortmund (3-1), with three draws. Hoffenheim humiliated Dortmund 4-0 at Signal Iduna Park in 2020, with Kramaric scoring all four goals.

And in their previous meeting at Dortmund, Hoffenheim also overcame a 3-0 deficit by scoring three goals in the final 15 minutes to draw 3-3.

Betting Tip

	Borussia Dortmund vs TSG Hoffenheim	TSG Hoffenheim Asian Handicap +1.50 @ 1.79
	August 28, 2:30 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have Dortmund installed as significant 1.44 favourites to get back to winning ways at home. Hoffenheim are priced at 5.80, while a draw is 4.80.

Based on recent form as well as the recent history between these two clubs, there is a lot to like about Hoffenheim in this matchup. They will be high in confidence after their good start and will catch a Dortmund side still finding its way under Marco Rose.

It would not be all that surprising if Hoffenheim do pick up a positive result like a draw away to Dortmund. And even if they do lose, it may just be by the odd goal, which is why they are a decent bet on the Asian Handicap market.