Today at 2:30 p.m. TSG Hoffenheim will face off against Bayer Leverkusen in what Hoffenheim coach Markus Gidsol has termed a "bonus game." Live stream the German Bundesliga action here.
Both sides have played in eight games this season, and while Hoffenheim has totaled more goals in their eight contests, they enter this match as heavy underdogs. That is because Leverkusen is very stingy on defense, having allowed eight goals all year as opposed to Hoffenheim's 20.
"It's a bonus game because hardly anybody expects us to get any points from it,'' Gisdol said. "But of course we will do all we can on the field to get something. We're going to have to have a really top day if we want to get anything because, without that, we're not going to get anything."
The biggest challenge for Hoffenheim, aside from finding the back of the net, will be controlling Leverkusen's big three of Sidney Sam, Son Hueng-min, and Steffan Kiessling up front. "Bayer have established themselves in the top three of German football over the years and they have huge quality, particularly up front," Gisdol said. Gisdol isn't kidding. Of Leverkusen's 18 goals in 2013, those three have combined for a dozen.
Sam in particular is a dynamic threat, leading Bayer Leverkusen in both goals scored (6) and assists (4). He has fired off 21 shots this season, and figured to be in attack mode against a porous Hoffeinheim defense that has left them with a goal differential of zero.
For Hoffenheim, they'll need a big game from leading goal scorer Anthony Modeste, who has scored the same number of goals as Sam. While he only has one assists on the year, his aggressive attacking should serve his side well. They'll need to go for broke and take chances to make anything happen today.
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