Hoffenheim and Freiburg meet up once again in hopes of replicating their 3-3 thriller at the Rhein-Neckar Arena in Hoffenheim back in September.
Just over half an hour in, Mike Frantz hit twice in a span of three minutes to give Freiburg a 2-0 lead, but Tarik Elyounoussi scored just before halftime to get the home side into the match. Over an hour through, Sebastian Rudy equalized for the hosts to get the crowd into it.
In spite of that goal, a 76th minute penalty by Vladimir Darida once again put the Freiburg ahead, however, everything wasn't so joyful for the Darida as he was sent off in the 82nd minute. Hoffenheim went to push on for an equalizer whilst a man up, and they finally got it as Vestergaard put it away to tie it on virtually the last kick of the game.
Hoffenheim are managed by Markus Gisdol, but his status to be able to manage the game is in question as he has been sick with the flu.
They currently sit in seventh in the league with still a glimmer of hope of getting a spot in the European competitions just three points behind Leverkusen but tied on points and one point ahead of Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively. The side is led by topscorer Roberto Firmino and captain Andreas Beck. Since the return of league football from a winter break, Hoffenheim have only won one in four which came last week winning 2-1 at home against Stuttgart.
Freiburg, managed by Christian Streich, have a few injuries to their side. Striker Admir Mehmedi isn't fully match fit yet and make come off the bench, and Nils Petersen is out with a knee injury.
Freiburg are currently 16th in the league and as it stands, they would be in the relegation playoff against the third-placed team in the second division of the Bundesliga. Fortunes are just slightly better for Freiburg since the return of league football winning two of four games to gain six points. They are captained by Julian Schuster, and their top goalscorer is Darida.
The last seven meetings between the clubs have only seen two outright winners and five draws, but with dreams of still playing in Europe in the minds of Hoffenheim, they should be able to take this one in another shootout.