Holstein Kiel vs Hoffenheim – News and Probable Lineups

The second division team Holstein Kiel will host Bundesliga side Hoffenheim at the Holstein-Stadion for a DFB-Pokal matchup on Wednesday.

Kiel progressed past 1860 Munich in the first round, while Hoffenheim commenced their cup journey with a straightforward win over Erzgebirge Aue.

Match overview

Kiel opened their campaign with a 2-0 triumph away against fourth-tier 1860 Munich in the initial round of the DFB-Pokal.

Unbeknownst to Kiel supporters at the time, this victory would be their only competitive win of the season until they notched their first league victory in a home match against Dynamo Dresden on Sunday.

Giorgi Kvilitaia, Jonas Therkelsen, and Phil Harres all found the back of the net as Kiel secured a 3-0 home win at the Holstein-Stadion, breaking a six-match winless streak in the 2.Bundesliga and easing some of the pressure that had been mounting on head coach Tim Walter.

This win lifted the club out of the relegation zone and into 13th place, although they remain level on eight points with all five teams sitting below them.

Kiel will now pause their league obligations to concentrate on the DFB-Pokal, a tournament in which they have enjoyed recent success, having reached the semi-finals in the 2020-21 season and the quarter-finals last year.

While they will face top-tier opposition, Kiel will be hopeful of giving Hoffenheim a tough test, especially considering they have recorded one victory and four draws in their five home matches this season, including consecutive clean sheets in their last two games at Holstein-Stadion.

On the other hand, Hoffenheim enjoyed a resounding 4-0 victory against fourth-tier Erzgebirge Aue in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, but they found it challenging to build on that success, suffering six defeats in seven matches across the Bundesliga and Europa League (with only one win).

Nonetheless, they managed to find their rhythm recently, stringing together a three-game winning streak in all competitions, starting with a 2-1 away victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.

Christian Ilzer’s squad then thrashed Lyon 3-0 in the Europa League, followed by replicating that scoreline in their Bundesliga encounter against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Andrej Kramaric scored first from the penalty spot, and Alexander Prass added another goal in the dying minutes, though he received a second yellow card for his celebration after removing his shirt.

Despite being a man down, Hoffenheim still found a third goal through Max Moerstedt, completing a comfortable win that propelled them to 10th place in the Bundesliga standings.

Their next objective will be to avoid a repeat of last season’s second-round elimination in the DFB-Pokal, and they should be optimistic about advancing to the next round, having won all three of their previous official encounters with Kiel.

Team News

Kiel will likely be missing Lasse Rosenboom, Frederik Roslyng, Steven Skrzybski, Hamza Muqaj, and Taisei Abe due to injuries.

Additionally, Sebastian Schonlau is unavailable after sustaining a muscle injury during the goalless draw against Hertha, which marked his return from a three-month absence due to injury.

Therkelsen is vying for a starting role after scoring off the bench in the victory over Dynamo, and there is a possibility for Ikem Ugoh to be included in the lineup.

For the visiting side, they will be without the injured trio of Nathan De Cat, Albian Hajdari, and Patrick Wimmer.

Forward Tim Lemperle is also a fitness doubt after missing Sunday’s win over Leverkusen due to a thigh issue.

Despite being sent off over the weekend, Prass is eligible to start in Wednesday’s cup fixture, as his ban only pertains to league matches.

Holstein Kiel probable starting XI:

Weiner; Sekine, Madsen, Zec, Parduzi; Kapralik, Meffert, Udoh, Therkelsen; Harres, Kvilitaia

Hoffenheim probable starting XI:

Philipp; Gendrey, Hranac, Machida, Bernardo; Prass, Conte, Avdullahu, Daghim; Kramaric, Moerstedt

Confidence is high among Hoffenheim following their trio of consecutive victories, and although Ilzer might rotate his squad for the cup match, we think they possess enough talent to narrowly surpass Kiel on Wednesday.