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Arminia Bielefeld will aim to climb out of the relegation zone when they take on Hoffenheim at the Bielefelder Alm on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, will look to build on their five-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga and secure a top-half finish for the fifth straight season.
Following a 5-0 thrashing against Borussia Monchengladbach, Arminia Bielefeld held on for an uneventful goalless draw with Hertha Berlin last time out.
However, it was a blow to their hopes of climbing out of the relegation zone as they remain in 16th place despite their recent rejuvenation.
Die Arminen have picked up two wins and three draws since the 1-0 loss to Leipzig six games ago. They are level on points with 15th-place Werder Bremen, who are having an equally poor campaign. Arminia Bielefeld will now aim to leapfrog Die Werderaner in the final two games of the season.
Hoffenheim, on the other hand, maintained their unbeaten run by claiming a 4-2 win over relegated Schalke.
Sebastian Hoeneb's men are now unbeaten in their last five games, dating back to the 2-1 loss to Augsburg on 3 April.
This impressive run has helped Hoffenheim surge to 11th place in the league standings, three points behind 10th-place Stuttgart.
Arminia Bielefeld vs Hoffenheim Head-To-Head
Hoffenheim are yet to taste defeat against Arminia Bielefeld, claiming two wins and one draw from their three encounters since 2008. The spoils were shared in their last meeting back in January 2021, when Arminia Bielefeld held on for a goalless draw at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.
Arminia Bielefeld Form Guide: D-L-W-D-W
Hoffenheim Form Guide: W-D-W-D-D
Arminia Bielefeld vs Hoffenheim Team News
Arminia Bielefeld
The hosts have a relatively clean bill of health, with Japanese midfielder Masaya Okugawa their only injured player.
Injured: Masaya Okugawa
Suspended: None
Hoffenheim
In contrast, Hoffenheim have a lengthy injury list. Christoph Baumgartner (ankle), Oliver Baumann (groin), Chris Richards (hip), Havard Nordtveit (foot), Konstantinos Stafylidis (calf), Dennis Geiger (hamstring), Ermin Bicakcic (ACL) and Benjamin Hubner (MCL) all ruled out with injuries. Munas Dabbur had to return to Israel for personal reasons.
Injured: Oliver Baumann, Chris Richards, Havard Nordtveit, Konstantinos Stafylidis, Dennis Geiger, Ermin Bicakcic, Benjamin Hubner
Unavailable: Munas Dabbur
Suspended: None
Arminia Bielefeld vs Hoffenheim Predicted XI
Arminia Bielefeld (4-3-3): Stefan Ortega; Cedric Brunner, Amos Pieper, Joakim Nilsson, Anderson Lucoqui; Michel Vlap, Manuel Prietl, Arne Maier; Ritsu Doan, Fabian Klos, Andreas Voglsammer
Hoffenheim (4-2-3-1): Philipp Pentke; Pavel Kaderabek, Kevin Vogt, Chris Richards, Ryan Sessegnon; Diadie Samassekou, Florian Grillitsch; Robert Skov, Sebastian Rudy, Andrej Kramaric; Ihlas Bebou
Arminia Bielefeld vs Hoffenheim Prediction
Arminia Bielefeld have found their feet in recent weeks, avoiding defeat in five out of six games as they aim to beat the drop. However, their frontmen have been far from impressive this season, scoring the second-lowest league goals so far. They take on a determined Hoffenheim side who are scoring freely at the moment and we predict they will outscore the hosts to claim all three points.
Prediction: Arminia Bielefeld 0-1 Hoffenheim
