Both teams are trying to win the midfield battles early in this half as they set out their stalls. No goalmouth action at either end as yet.

Bremen get the second half under way.

Hoffenheim were the better side early on but were caught off guard by Bremen's opener, which was the result of some brilliant link-up play between Füllkrug and Ducksch. The hosts soon got back on track though, and equalised through Dabbur's fine finish on the counter. Werder grew into the game as the half wore on, leaving all to play for in the second 45 minutes.

We're into the first of three extra minutes at the end of this half.

This is only the second time this season that Hoffenheim have been 1-0 down; the first occasion was the 1-0 defeat by Dortmund on Matchday 5. There is hope of a comeback though: Bremen have thrown away a lead a league-high three times this season, drawing two and losing one.

Hoffenheim get the ball rolling on Matchday 9!

Andre Breitenreiter has only made one change to his team in the wake of last week's 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin, with Skov replacing Kaderabek at right wing-back. The Dane was in the Hoffenheim starting line-up between Matchdays 2 and 5.

Ole Werner has named an unchanged side following last week's 5-1 thrashing of Gladbach, with Stark retaining his place at the back ahead of Pieper, who is available again following suspension. Seven-goal talisman Füllkrug leads the charge up front.

Baumann (c) - Kabak, Vogt, Nsoki - Skov, Prömel, Geiger, Angelino - Baumgartner - Kramaric, Dabbur

Philipp, Kaderabek, Bruun Larsen, Stiller, Rudy, Becker, Akpoguma, Quaresma, Rutter

Pavlenka - Stark, Veljkovic, Friedl (c) - Weiser, Schmid, Groß, Gruev, Jung - Füllkrug, Ducksch

Zetterer, Pieper, Stage, Burke, Bittencourt, Schmidt, Goller, Buchanan, Agu

"Bremen have a clear way of playing, very defined actions," said Hoffenheim boss Andre Breitenreiter. "The team is disciplined and that currently makes them strong opposition. We want to neutralise exactly that and show our strengths. Ducksch and Füllkrug complement each other very well. They are a dangerous attacking duo and we need to be ready for them. But it is also clear that we are TSG, we have a home match and want to come out confident."

"We always attempt to play attacking football," said Bremen head coach Ole Werner at his pre-match press conference. "We have some strong players up front and try to set our game plan around that accordingly."

Bremen have 44 goals to Hoffenheim's 43 across their meetings to date. That equates to 3.35 goals per game on average.

This will be the 27th Bundesliga meeting between these teams. Bremen have won 10 and there have been 10 draws, with Hoffenheim taking maximum spoils on just six occasions. TSG did earn a 4-0 success the last time they locked horns though, in February 2021.

Only three teams (Frankfurt, Augsburg, Freiburg) have picked up more points than Bremen's seven over the last four Bundesliga games, with victories over Bochum and Gladbach book-ending a surprise defeat by Augsburg and a draw in Leverkusen. Only Bayern (23) have scored more goals than Bremen (18) this season, and Ole Werner's charges have found the net in every game but one. Hoffenheim are looking good too though, and are unbeaten in three ahead of kick-off. They also have 10 points from a possible 12 on home turf this season.

Hello and thanks for joining us for live build-up and coverage of the Matchday 9 curtain-raiser between high-flying Hoffenheim and a free-scoring Werder Bremen side. Stay tuned for team news and plenty more besides!