Andrej Kramarić and soaring Hoffenheim ready to take advantage of Bayern Munich blip
Hoffenheim travel to the Allianz Arena on Sunday to take on Bayern Munich. While the Sinsheim outfit may not have many happy memories from recent fixtures against the Bavarians, their current form - combined with the reigning champions' apparent dip - and Andrej Kramarić's record should give them confidence of grabbing all three points…
Hoffenheim’s last three meetings with Bayern have felt like one-way traffic. Vincent Kompany’s men have recorded 5-0, 4-0 and 4-1 victories against the Sinsheimers in those games, with the latter seemingly having no answer to their opponents’ attacks.
On each occasion, though, the result was part of a wider issue. Last season, for example, was Hoffenheim’s second-worst in the Bundesliga, as they managed to pick up a measly 32 points, with the 5-0 and 4-0 defeats coming at the end of six- and five-game winless streaks, respectively.
Watch: Hoffenheim 1-4 Bayern Munich - highlights of last meeting
The 4-1 loss on Matchday 4 of this term, meanwhile, came during a run of just two Hoffenheim wins in six games. However, the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cologne two weeks later ultimately proved to be a turning point for both Christian Ilzer and his players.
Since then, Hoffenheim have been beaten only once in 14 Bundesliga matches, amassing 35 points – more than anyone in the division, even league-leaders Bayern. They have also scored the second-most goals during that time, while their 11 goals conceded over the same period is a division lead. The run has also already seen them eclipse their entire points total from last season as they sit on 42, their best-ever in the top flight after 20 outings.
There have been some impressive results in the last five months. Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt were no match for Die Kraichgauer, with Borussia Dortmund the only side to get the better of them after the Billy Goats.
Watch: Hoffenheim 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen - highlights
Key performers include both experienced and youthful members of the squad. Club captain Oliver Baumann, now 35 and with over 500 Bundesliga appearances to his name, has been as reliable as ever, while Grischa Prömel, Vladimir Coufal and Bernardo have contributed with solid displays – the former is even the side’s joint-second-highest goalscorer in all competitions this season with seven efforts.
Meanwhile, 23-year-olds Fisnik Asllani and Tim Lemperle have made an immediate impact since joining up with the first-team squad last summer, as has 22-year-old Leon Avdullahu, and teenager Bazoumana Touré has provided exuberance and excitement down the flanks.
Nevertheless, although Hoffenheim’s success has been a team effort, Kramarić remains the talisman. His team-high nine goals this season have taken him beyond 150 for the club in all competitions since joining a decade ago, while Claudio Pizarro and Robert Lewandowski are now the only non-German players above him in the Bundesliga’s all-time goal rankings.
Watch: All Kramarić's goals against Bayern
This term has been microcosmic of his ability to age like a fine wine. Although he found the back of the net just three times before the winter break, no player in the German top flight has bagged more often than his five strikes in 2026. Add in his four assists, and he has contributed directly to 12 Bundesliga goals already this term.
His return to peak form is bad news for Bayern, against whom he has often operated at his best. No current Bundesliga player has scored more than his eight goals versus the Munich club, a haul which included a hat-trick on the final day of the 2023/24 season.
He is therefore primed not only to end his own three-game goal drought against Bayern, but also to take advantage of their drop in form, by their own high standards.
At one point, it felt unlikely that anyone could stop them as they went in search of a second successive title, but a first Bundesliga loss of the season against Augsburg, followed by a 2-2 draw at Hamburg, has seen them fail to win in two consecutive games for the first time this season.
It has also slightly opened the door to Dortmund in the title race, with the Black-Yellows just six points behind going into the weekend, after being 11 adrift two weeks ago.
The situation has therefore increased the pressure on Bayern, while Hoffenheim continue to soar. They have rarely been better placed to hurt Kompany and Co., and a club-record sixth Bundesliga victory in a row would move them within six points of the summit too.
Could they make the battle for the Meisterschale a three-horse race? We will find out by full-time this weekend.
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