Bundesliga high-flyers and the only two unbeaten sides alongside holders Bayern Munich will square off on Sunday in what should be a great game of football at Borussia-Park. Both Borussia and Hoffenheim also enjoyed victories in the DFB Pokal matches in midweek, meaning they go into the game high on confidence.

Borussia outclass Bayern

Borussia M’gladbach have made a tremendous progress under Lucien Favre, and they are now rightly considered genuine top 4 contenders. Die Fohlen did a very good job in the summer transfer window as they only stayed without Marc-Andre ter Stegen and in turn signed the likes of Sommer, Traore, Johnson, Hahn and Hazard, among others. And with the backbone of the team remaining the same, Borussia were able to hit the ground running early on, and seventeen games into the new season they are still unbeaten. While the team have reached DFB Pokal Last 16 stage and came really close to Europa League knockout stages, they have been even more impressive in the league, climbing to second in the Bundesliga standings. Die Fohlen faced a serious test to their top 4 ambitions as they host Bayern Munich last weekend, but while the Bavarians did enjoy a lion’s share of possession, it was Lucien Favre’s charges who dominated the proceedings, created much better chances than the opposition to prove they are in top 4 to stay. And even though their next opponents are also at the top of their game, Borussia cannot fail to win if they repeat the performance from the Bayern clash.

While Granit Xhaka is the only unavailable player, a number of first team regulars will be recalled after they were rested in midweek.

Brilliant start

Hoffenheim did not exactly impress last season as they finished the league campaign in mid table, some 11 points behind their next opponents, but the club splashed the cash in the summer transfer window and are now reaping the rewards. TSG 1899 took great advantage of an easy fixture list to record four wins and five draws in first nine league matches, but the game against red-hot Borussia will be one of their first serious tests this season. Hoffenheim almost exclusively faced bottom-table sides in the opening exchanges, defeating only Schalke of stronger Bundesliga sides, meaning we cannot be convinced they have what it takes to match the best teams in the league. Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration is that TSG 1899 did not exactly outclass any of their opponents this term, but they were rather fortunate to win some very close games, and I have a feeling all their weaknesses will be on display at Borussia-Park. The visitors will try to play it patiently and wait for their chance on the break, but their shaky back line will have their work cut out for them against the likes of Hahn, Herrmann, Raffael and Kurse.

There are no fresh injury worries for boss Markus Gisdol, but Casteels, Grahl, Toljan, Salihovic and Kim are all unavailable.

Verdict

While Borussia have managed to outplay some of Germany’s best sides this season, Hoffenheim rather took advantage of an easy fixture list and the difference in quality between the two sides should be evident on Sunday. Having said that, I fully expect red-hot die Fohlen to continue the impressive run.

Top pick: Home win   2.05 (21/20) @ Unibet

Alternative pick 1: Gladbach/Gladbach   3.30 (23/10) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Borussia to win to nil   4.20 (16/5) @ Coral