Hoffenheim vs Suttgart Preview: Hoffenheim Exploits’ Ibisevic Absence

Hoffenheim may have lost the derby to Freiburg, but the online betting favorite is hardly affected as their opponent, Stuttgart has lost their scoring machine, Vedad Ibisevic due to a brawl during the Augsburg encounter. Expect Gisdol and his men to exploit such situation as they attempt to gain more points in the said match.
Match Date: 15 February 2014 (local time)
Venue: Rhein-Neckar-Arena
Team Form
Hoffenheim
Markus Gisdol and his men were unable to move from the 11th spot of the Bundesliga table when Freiburg forced them to be content with an even steven finish.
Gisdol acknowledged that it is never easy to snatch a win against their local rival, Freiburg, although he did admit that they could have done better. But if there is anything that will probably impact Hoffenheim’s performance against Stuttgart, it was their exit in the semi-finals of the German Cup. Hoffenheim lost to VfL Wolfsburg in a narrow 2-3 defeat.
Nevertheless, it seemed that the loss to Wolfsburg gives them the edge as this will make them concentrate on their performance in the domestic league.
Stuttgart
A double whammy slapped Stuttgart as they dropped in the Bundesliga table and moved closer to the relegation zone.
Already in their disastrous form, which was even made worse by their Bayer Leverkusen defeat, Stuttgart fell again and suffered their fifth consecutive defeat in the hands of Augsburg. But it was more than ordinary loss, they were thrashed with four (4) points and their only response was a single goal from Konstantin Rausch.
But the series of unfortunate events did not end with the thrashing, the club’s scoring machine, Vedad Ibisevic received a booking that will ban him for five (5) crucial matches.
Ibisevic got the red card after a skirmish against Jan Callsen-Bracker.
Prediction: Hoffenheim
With Ibisevic out of the pitch and with the strong determination to bounce back, it is not surprising to see Hoffenheim take advantage of their opponent’s current situation.
Image Source: Bundesliga