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Hoffenheim have brought Weghorst back to Germany
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Hosts have poor recent record in the cup
Lübeck v Hoffenheim
Monday 14 August, 17:00
Our chum Tobias fell agonisingly short of a full house, as Hacken got the win he wanted against Varbergs, but the BTTS didn't land. Still, six winners from seven tips is a hell of an effort.
We'll pick up the baton and head to Germany, because Hoffenheim are visiting Lübeck in the first round of the DFB Pokal, Germany's premier cup competition.
Hoffenheim narrowly avoided relegation last term in the Bundesliga, but now that coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has steadied the ship, it's hoped that TSG can have a less stressful campaign. They have brought Dutch target-man Wout Weghorst back to the Bundesliga, after the ex-Wolfsburg striker had an underwhelming time in the Premier League with both Burnley and Manchester United. Weghorst's goalscoring record for Wolfsburg was highly respectable, so there's no reason he can't get things back on track.
Hoffenheim have also swooped to sign winger Marius Bülter, who was Schalke's best player by some distance last season. Bülter has added consistent goalscoring to his game, and should prove a useful capture. With Florian Grillitsch returning after a disappointing spell at Ajax, and highly-rated Hungarian centre-back Attila Szalai beefing up the back line, Hoffenheim have had an encouraging summer in the market.
Lübeck play their football in the third tier, the Dritte Liga. The northern club were promoted last term as Regionalliga Nord champions, but VfB don't have a sparkling recent history in the Pokal. Last season they lost 3-0 at home to top-flight side Mainz in round two, and every other time they have qualified for the Pokal since 2010, they have crashed out in the first round.
Hoffenheim can make a strong start to their campaign here, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see them priced at 1.758/11 on the Exchange to win by two goals or more on the Asian Handicap.