FIRST TEAM
12/17/2009

Christmas derby for 1899

1899 Hoffenheim finish off the first half of the season this Saturday with a derby match against VfB Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz-Arena (19 December, 18:30 CET)

The Baden-Württemberg derby promises to be an exciting encounter, and even coach Ralf Rangick is expecting an "emotional game", adding that "the lads are all fired up to put in another good performance on Saturday." The target is of course to minimise the gap between Hoffenheim and the leading pack in the league, meaning 1899 will be hoping for at least a point from the match against the Bundesliga's 15th-placed side. "VfB need the three points, but we want the three points."

There will be several changes to the Hoffenheim squad which drew with Frankfurt on Matchday 16. Demba Ba, Marvin Compper and Timo Hildebrand are all out with swine flu, with Daniel Haas set to assume Hildebrand's role between the sticks. Sejad Salihovic is also out. The Bosnian is suspended after picking his fifth yellow card of the season against Frankfurt. Andreas Beck, meanwhile, is struggling with a thigh strain.

Stuttgart will also be without their No1 on Saturday evening with Jens Lehmann suspended for his violent conduct in the game against Mainz. Ex-captain Thomas Hitzlsperger and Zdravko Kuzmanovic will also both miss out due to muscle tears. The match against Hoffenheim will be Stuttgart's third under the tutelage of new boss Christian Gross after the Swabians qualified for the Champions League knockout stages in his first game in charge before drawing with Mainz last week, with a last minute penalty costing VfB all three points.

Both previous meetings between the two sides ended in a draw. A goalless draw at the Carl-Benz-Stadion in Mannheim last season was followed by a six goal thriller in Stuttgart, with Demba Ba netting all Hoffenheim's goals in a 3-3 draw.

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