SC Paderborn vs Hoffenheim – News and Probable Lineups

SC Paderborn 07 will face TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga at the Home Deluxe Arena this coming Sunday.

After three matches, Ralf Kettemann’s newly promoted team has only managed to secure a single point and has yet to find the back of the net in the Bundesliga this season, whereas Christian Ilzer’s Hoffenheim arrives following an unexpected 2-0 defeat in the Europa League against OFI Crete.

This Sunday’s fixture marks the first encounter between these two teams in the top division since they ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the same venue in May 2020, a match played without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Match overview

Paderborn’s return to the Bundesliga after a six-year absence has been promising but without results, as Kettemann’s side has recorded 33 attempts in their first three league matches but hasn’t scored yet.

The season kicked off with a goalless draw away at Mainz, a commendable point that was followed by a narrow 1-0 loss at home to Freiburg in Paderborn’s first Bundesliga match at the Home Deluxe Arena in over six years.

Their toughest test so far was against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park last weekend, where they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat after Fabio Silva opened the scoring, followed by a late brace from Felix Nmecha.

As a result, Paderborn’s quest for a win in the top league has extended to 18 matches dating back to January 2020, making them one of the two Bundesliga teams yet to score this season.

Kettemann, who achieved promotion for Paderborn in his first season as a head coach following a 2-1 aggregate victory over Wolfsburg in the play-offs in May, is now striving to maintain the club’s Bundesliga status for only the third time in its history.

This Sunday presents an opportunity to end their prolonged drought in scoring against a Hoffenheim team that will arrive at the Home Deluxe Arena with limited rest after their recent European match in Crete.

Hoffenheim enters this fixture still coping with the disappointment of their 2-0 Europa League defeat against OFI Crete, a result that put a stop to the momentum gained from their first league victory of the season.

Ilzer’s squad began the Bundesliga season with a 3-2 loss to Cologne, where they held the lead twice thanks to goals from Adam Daghim and Ozan Kabak, only to see a late brace from Thijs Dallinga turn the match around for the home side.

They faced a more painful collapse at home against Borussia Dortmund, where Hoffenheim led 2-0 through Leon Avdullahu and Tim Lemperle, but ultimately conceded three goals in the last thirty minutes, including an own goal by Albian Hajdari in the 86th minute, to finish 3-2 down.

Adam Hlozek finally shifted Hoffenheim’s fortunes around with a double in a 2-1 victory over Stuttgart last Saturday at the SNP Arena, registering his first Bundesliga goals since May 2025 and marking the third time he has scored twice in a match in this competition.

This victory followed a tough start for a team that secured a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga in 2025-26, achieving the second-highest points tally in Hoffenheim’s history, which also ensured qualification for the Europa League.

Captain Oliver Baumann expressed after the defeat in Crete that the home side simply had more desire, indicating the need for a mental reset ahead of Sunday’s journey north.

With only three days between the two matches, rotation is expected to play a significant role in Ilzer’s selection, with Andrej Kramaric and Fisnik Asllani being potential candidates who could feature in the lineup.

Team News

Nyamekye Awortwie-Grant is sidelined due to a knee issue, while Timur Gayret is continuing his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered before his transfer from Verl and is not expected to return until the new year.

Lasse Eickel has resumed individual training but has not yet rejoined full team sessions, and both Sven Michel and Marcel Hoffmeier remain unavailable as Paderborn looks forward to restoring their squad depth.

The encouraging news for Kettemann is that Laurin Curda has recovered from the muscle injury that forced him to leave the match against Dortmund and has returned to full training as of Thursday, meaning Paderborn heads into the fixture without any new injury concerns.

Hoffenheim’s injury situation has improved since earlier in the week, with Alexander Prass rejoining the squad for Thursday’s match in Crete after dealing with a muscle problem.

Bambase Conte and Adam Daghim were both rested during the Europa League loss and are likely to be reintegrated into Ilzer’s starting XI against Paderborn.

Hoffenheim generally boasts a clean bill of health as they approach Sunday’s encounter, providing Ilzer with a full range of choices as he manages a squad adjusting to playing two games in four days.

Prass’s exact fitness remains somewhat uncertain, considering mixed reports earlier in the week, and his status should be clearer as kickoff approaches.

SC Paderborn probable starting XI:

Noll; Hansen, Scheller, ter Horst; Obermair, Vidovic, Castaneda, Ulrich, Curda; Pieringer, Marino

Hoffenheim probable starting XI:

Baumann; M. Rots, Kabak, Hajdari, Coufal; Daghim, Burger, Avdullahu, Conte; Lemperle, Hlozek

Paderborn’s struggle to convert possession into goals continues to characterize their return to the top tier, and despite the return of a fit-again Curda, Kettemann’s side appears to lack the crucial edge needed to break their extended winless streak.

Hoffenheim’s away form and superior squad depth are likely to be decisive, even taking into consideration the brief recovery period since Crete, with Hlozek’s performance from last weekend indicating that Ilzer may have discovered a way to penetrate defenses that could trouble Paderborn’s back three.

A narrow, low-scoring victory for the away side seems the most likely outcome, with Paderborn’s lack of a potent attack expected to leave them without points again by the final whistle.