RB Leipzig – Hoffenheim

The visitors have nothing to lose, they will provoke a high scoring encounter

The German Cup last eight stage will get underway on Wednesday. Reigning champions Bayern and reigning cup holders Leipzig will play on the day. "The Bulls are the first team to take to the pitch on the day, and the current Bundesliga runners-up will oppose them. Leipzig have played the previous two rounds in the tournament in the same breath. In the 1/32 finals, Domenico Tedesco's side demolished Club Teutonia Ottenzen (8:0), and in the 1/16 finals, under Marco Rosé, they did not leave Hamburg any chances - 4:0. In the 1/32 finals, Hoffenheim were foolish in their encounter with Rödinghausen, beating their Western Regional League opponents in the 115th and 118th minutes by goals only. For the 1/16 final, the Villages set themselves up differently, leading to a 5-1 defeat of Schalke. Bookmakers have suggested that Leipzig are favourites to win the encounter with odds of around 1.50. The hosts of the upcoming match are one of the three strongest clubs in Germany for the last few months. Last year, Leipzig finished the year with a 6-match winning streak, during which Madrid, Bayer, Freiburg, and Schachter suffered. In the January fixtures, the Bulls proved their professional fitness. In the first match of the year, Leipzig welcomed Bayern Munich to their home arena without conceding anything, 1-1. In the next two rounds, Rosé's charges took down Stuttgart and Schalke with a combined score of 8-2. The team plays without Nkunku, who is still recovering from injury, but has been steadily producing results. Hoffenheim are performing worse this season than in previous seasons. In the championship the club takes 13th place, already critically lagging behind from the European Cup zone. At the same time, the villagers' failures in the Bundesliga could further motivate them to succeed in the German Cup. Since the return of club football from the break, Hoffenheim have picked up just one point in three rounds of the national championship, but have scored in each of them. Including the runners-up Union Berlin at its capital arena. Leipzig and Hoffenheim played two games against each other in 2022. The Bulls won both: 3-0 and 3-1. The visitors have nothing to lose, so Wednesday will see open football with plenty of goals.