First Team

Hoping to end 17-year wait

The fact file on the Wolves’ away match at TSG Hoffenheim.

The 35th competitive encounter between TSG and VfL is the first to take place in January. Both clubs have struggled with the restart after the Christmas break in recent times: Hoffenheim have only won their opening Bundesliga game of the calendar year in one of the last seven years, while the Green-and-Whites have been away from home in seven of their last nine opening fixtures of the year – and not won any of them. The last away victory in a year opener came back in 2008 at Arminia Bielefeld under Felix Magath.

  • Hoffenheim have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 28 Bundesliga home games – the second-longest such run in the history of the league. Only Stuttgart had to wait longer for a home match without conceding a goal (31) between April 2021 and February 2023.

  • Wolfsburg have scored more goals from set pieces (10) than any other team in the current Bundesliga season.

  • Jonas Wind, the Wolves’ top scorer this season with six league goals, netted his first Bundesliga goal against TSG on 19 September 2022.

  • With the season not even at the halfway point yet, VfL have already registered as many away wins (four) as they did in the whole of the 2023/24 campaign.

  • Since the pulsating 4-3 victory against RB Leipzig in Christian Ilzer’s first match as coach, Hoffenheim haven’t won any of their seven games in all competitions (D3, L4).

  • Last time out against Dortmund, Denis Vavro became the 13th different player to get on the scoresheet for the Wolves this season – only Bayern Munich (14 different goalscorers) have surpassed that.

  • The home side have hit a league-high 252 crosses from open play during the current Bundesliga campaign. Bottom of this ranking with 136 crosses are none other than the Green-and-Whites.

  • However, VfL do currently boast the best chance conversion rate in the German top flight at 23 percent. That’s resulted in 32 goals – only three teams have scored more. The last time the Wolves had this many goals after the first 15 matchdays was in the title-winning season.