Hoffenheim v Leverkusen: Preview, predicted line-ups and team news

Hoffenheim have scored in all six of their Bundesliga games this season and still sit 13th. That tells you where the problem is. They have conceded 14 goals, 2.3 a match, and have not kept a clean sheet.

The hosts host Bayer Leverkusen at the PreZero Arena on Sunday with a defence that has leaked at least one goal in every league game. Leverkusen visit in far better shape, fourth in the table after four wins from six.

The visitors are in a new era under Carles Martínez, who took charge on 1 August 2026. Hoffenheim are managed by Christian Ilzer, in post since 1 November 2024. Neither has faced the other before.

Hoffenheim's last six league results read: lost at Köln 3-2, lost at home to Dortmund 3-2, beat Stuttgart 2-1, lost 3-1 at Paderborn, lost 3-2 at home to Hamburg, then won 2-1 at Borussia Mönchengladbach last Sunday. That is two wins from six, with five of those games decided by a single goal.

The attack is not the concern. They average 1.83 goals a game, create an expected-goals figure of 1.67 and take 17.8 shots. The trouble is the 2.33 conceded, with Hoffenheim's own xG against sitting at 1.43, so they have been a touch unlucky as well as porous. Last Sunday's win at Gladbach, who are bottom, was only their second of the campaign.

Leverkusen have the opposite profile at home and a very different one on the road. They have won all three home games, scoring 8 and conceding 1. Away from the BayArena they have conceded 8 in three, including a 3-2 defeat at Elversberg and a 4-3 win at Mainz.

They arrive on a run of four wins and a draw in five, the latest a 2-1 home win over Freiburg last Sunday. They are fourth on 13 points, one behind Bayern and Dortmund, and that Champions League place is the motivation. Their attack has been the story, with 16 goals in their last six.

Leverkusen's last six read four wins, one draw and one defeat, with 16 goals scored and 9 conceded. Hoffenheim's read two wins and four defeats, with 11 scored and 14 conceded. On form alone the visitors are clearly ahead. The caveat is the goals. Every Hoffenheim game has had at least three goals in it, and five of Leverkusen's six have too, so a close result can hide a very open match. Hoffenheim's record is a story of narrow losses, not heavy ones, and they have lost only once by more than a goal.

Leverkusen are fourth on 13 points from six games, one behind Bayern München and Dortmund, who both have 14. They sit level with third-placed Freiburg and three clear of fifth-placed Mainz. A win would put them at least level with the leaders on points going into the Bayern game.

Hoffenheim are 13th on 6 points from six, with a goal difference of minus 3. They are one point clear of Schalke in 15th, who have 5, and Paderborn in 16th, who have also played six and have 5. Stuttgart in 14th have the same 6 points but have played seven. It is early, but a home defeat would drag Hoffenheim into the bottom-half scrap, while a win would lift them to within a point of the top ten.

Leverkusen have won six of the last ten meetings, Hoffenheim three, and one was drawn. The games have averaged 3.8 goals, with both sides scoring in eight of them and nine going over 2.5. The most recent meeting was a 1-0 Hoffenheim win at the PreZero Arena on 17 January 2026.

That result broke a run in which Leverkusen had been the dominant side, including a 4-1 win at this ground in September 2024. Hoffenheim have now won two of the last two, which counts for something, but the personnel and the managers on both sides have changed. The numbers still point strongly at goals. Both teams to score and over 2.5 are the obvious leans, and a 2-1 or 1-2 scoreline fits the pattern of the last ten.

The biggest gap is at the back. Leverkusen concede 1.5 a game and have two clean sheets. Hoffenheim concede 2.33 and have none. That is a goal a game between the two defences.

The second gap is in attack. Leverkusen create 2.27 expected goals a game and average 2.67 real ones, against Hoffenheim's 1.67 and 1.83. Leverkusen also put 6.2 shots a game on target to Hoffenheim's 5.3. Possession is almost identical (57.8% v 57.3%), so Hoffenheim will not be overrun. They will have the ball, but Leverkusen are the more efficient with it. The caveat for the visitors is the road: they have conceded 2.7 a game away from home.

Hoffenheim have used both a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1 this season and may stick with the latter, with Kramarić in the hole. Leverkusen play 4-2-3-1 and have a long injury list, which thins the attacking options.

Hoffenheim: Baumann; Coufal, Hranáč, Kabak, Prass; Avdullahu, Burger; Hložek, Kramarić, Bebou; Moerstedt

Leverkusen: Flekken; Vázquez, Tapsoba, Badé, Gutiérrez; Andrich, Aleix García; Poku, Maza, Tella; Schick

The match kicks off at 14:30 GMT on Sunday 25 October 2026, the first day after the clocks go back in the UK. In the UK the Bundesliga is shown on Amazon Prime Video where selected, so it is not on Sky Sports. A specific channel for this game has not been confirmed yet, and this page will be updated closer to kick-off.

The strongest angle is goals. Nine of the last ten meetings had more than 2.5, and both Hoffenheim and Leverkusen have scored in every league game this season. The market agrees, with both teams to score priced at 2/7. The value is in the result, where Leverkusen at 13/10 are the better side with the better attack. The bet builder pairs that with the goals and an anytime goalscorer.