2. Bundesliga outfit 1860 München will be keen to rectify what has been a slow start to their league campaign when they face top-flight team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday evening.
Form
After two games of the regular season played, they sit in 17th position, only kept clear of bottom spot by goal difference. In truth, they've had two difficult matches the begin the season; starting with an away match against 1. FC Heidenheim, who are fancied by many to have a good season, and a home match against newly-relegated, and promotion hopefuls; SC Freiburg.
They came out of both matches on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline. The Lions are one of only three teams in the 2. Bundesliga yet to have scored a goal this season, and they will be keen to finally get themselves off the mark this weekend.
Last season's DFB-Pokal quarter-finalists, TSG Hoffenheim, are yet to begin their league campaign, as the Bundesliga doesn't start until the following week, however, they have had a rather encouraging pre-season.
Goalscoring has seldom been an issue for the well-known Bundesliga "entertainers", and that has continued into this pre-season. On three occasions, they've registered over 10 goals in a match, albeit to considerably lower league opponents. Die Kreichgauer will be keen to get their cup run, and their season, up and running early on, ahead of next week's visit to the BayArena to face Bayer Leverkusen.
Head-to-head
1860 München and Hoffenheim have only met competitively on two occasions, during the 2007/2008 season, with both sides claiming a victory apiece. On each occasion the away team was the victor.
Key men
1860 will be hoping that their forwards will find their shooting-boots this weekend and propel them into the next round of the cup. It's expected that Austrian striker Rubin Okotie will once again lead the attack. Okotie has averaged better than a goal every other game in his time with 1860 so far, but is yet to register a goal in this new campaign.
Many people will be interested to see how Hoffenheim cope following the sale of influential playmaker Roberto Firmino to Premier League giants Liverpool, however the Sinsheim side have made some astute signings over the summer thus far.
Jonathan Schmid arrived from relegated Freiburg, Mark Uth from Heerenveen and Bundesliga veteran Kevin Kuranyi returned to Germany after spending five years in Russia for Dynamo Moscow.